Legal cannabis vaping products will not be hitting retail shelves in Alberta until the province has completed its Tobacco, Smoking, Vaping Review.

“As promised, we are reviewing Alberta’s Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act, which will allow us to consider options to further prevent and reduce the harms of tobacco, tobacco-like products and vaping, especially among youth,” MLA Jeremy Nixon said in October in a statement.

The retail sale of second-wave cannabis products became legal after the 60-day waiting period since legalization expired this week, but fears of vape-caused pulmonary illnesses have abounded for the past few months. This spurred a number of provinces to take different approaches to regulating the sale of the products, despite that the lion’s share of the nearly 2,500 reported cases took place in the U.S. (Canada has had just 14).

There are two types of vapes currently on the market – liquid filled and dry herb. Additive vitamin E acetate, which is illegal in Canadian vape products, is the suspected cause of the illnesses, and has been found in some liquid-filled vapes across the U.S. Dry herb vapes, which are filled with dried flower, are not considered to be associated.

While residents of legal age in most Canadian provinces will be able to enjoy access to all kinds of vape products, others will have to travel across provincial lines to cop them. This, critics say, is likely to drive vape-loving customers to the illicit market and potentially increase the risk of consuming a contaminated product.

Some provinces are still waiting to stock their second-wave products, but others will have limited access or none at all. In some areas, vape products have been outright prohibited, at least for the time being.

Alberta

Albertans will have to wait until the province completes its review to get their hands on legal liquid-filled vape products.

B.C.

Vapes will be available in B.C. retail locations, but expect to pay an additional 20 percent tax on liquid-filled vapes and associated products. The tax originally applied to all vape products, but the province opted not to apply it to dry herb vapes this week.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador was the first province to outright ban the sale of vapes in its legal retail stores, just weeks before the products were scheduled to hit the shelves. The province has noted it may reconsider if new clinical evidence comes to light, but for now, the sale of the devices and accompanying products is prohibited.

“There is a significant issue with vaping in our province,” provincial health minister John Haggie said in a press release earlier this month. “Given the health concerns already identified about cannabis vape products, not allowing the introduction of these products is a prudent measure to protect the health of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,” Haggie said.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotians will be able to purchase most vaping products, but flavoured vapes and cartridges are prohibited, whether for cannabis or nicotine. The decision was made “in response to our concerns about the growth in particular of youth vaping,” Nova Scotia health minister Randy Delorey explained. The ban will take hold on Apr. 1, 2020. Ontario is considering enacting a similar prohibition.

Quebec

Quebec is quickly earning a reputation as a province that does not care for cannabis. La Belle Province, which has a monopoly on cannabis retail, has banned the sale of cannabis vapes in all Société québécoise du cannabis stores.

“We will not be selling vaping products on Jan. 1,” provincial spokesperson Fabrice Giguère told Postmedia earlier this month.

Not satisfied with the ban of only vaping products, the province has also prohibited most edibles and will raise its age of majority to purchase cannabis products from 18 to 21.