HIGH DEMAND
Massive queues outside Canada cannabis shops after country legalises weed
Overnight crowds cheered and celebrated when selected stores made their first sales in the country's eastern province of Newfoundland
CANADA last night became the second country in the world to legalise recreational marijuana with stores opening at midnight to serve queues of keen pot smokers.
Canadians should now in theory be able to buy cannabis and cannabis oil from licensed producers at various retail locations.
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However, it remains illegal to possess more than 30 grams of cannabis in public, grow more than four plants per household or buy from an unlicensed dealer.
This morning stores in the country's easternmost province, Newfoundland, opened at the stoke of midnight to serve queues of customers hoping to be a part of the nation's historic day.
In the city of St. John's, hundreds of customers were lined up around the block at a store on the main commercial drag in the provincial capital by the time the clock struck midnight.
A festive atmosphere broke out, with some customers lighting up on the sidewalk and motorists honking their horns in support as they drove by the crowd.
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Pot smoker Ian Power said: "I am going to frame it and hang it on my wall. I'm not even going to smoke it. I'm just going to save it forever."
The 46-year-old added: "Prohibition has ended right now. We just made history.
"I can't believe we did it. All the years of activism paid off. Cannabis is legal in Canada and everyone should come to Canada and enjoy our cannabis."
However, it remains illegal to possess more than 30 grams of cannabis in public, grow more than four plants per household or buy from an unlicensed dealer.
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Anyone caught selling the drug to a minor could be jailed for up to 14 years.
In 2017, Canadians spent an estimated £3.5billion on combined medical and recreational use - about £910 per user. The bulk of that spending was on black market marijuana.
Provinces within the country will dictate where a person can consume cannabis, so some residents could be restricted on where they can use the drug.
Hours before the handful of retail outlets opened in the country's easternmost province, a federal official told The AP that Canada will pardon all those with convictions for possessing up to 30 grams of marijuana, the now-legal threshold.
Canada has had legal medical marijuana since 2001 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has spent two years working toward expanding that to include recreational marijuana.
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The goal is to better reflect society's changing opinion about marijuana and bring black market operators into a regulated system. Uruguay was first was the first country to legalise marijuana.
Tom Clarke, an illegal pot dealer for three decades, was among the first to make a legal sale in Canada when his store opened at midnight local time in Portugal Cove, Newfoundland.
He made the first sale to his dad. A crowd of 50 to 100 people waited outside and cheered him.
Mr Clarke said: "This is awesome. I've been waiting my whole life for this. I am so happy to be living in Canada right now instead of south of the border."
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Clarke, whose middle name is Herb, has been called THC for years by his friends. His dad, Don, said he was thrilled he was among the first customers of legal pot.
He said: "It's been a long time coming. We've only been discussing this for 50 years. It's better late than never."
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