The government of Quebec is known for taking a unique approach to law-making, informed by French culture, history, sovereignty and language rights. Those laws can be confusing to outsiders who aren’t familiar with the territory – and cannabis regulation is no exception.

There’s no question that Quebecers love weed, but that appetite doesn’t seem congruent with the province’s legislation surrounding the drug. Just recently, legislators bumped the minimum age to buy cannabis from 18 to to 21 – the highest in the country.

Provincial government officials say the decision will protect the developing brains of vulnerable youth. But critics have decried the decision as a blow to harm reduction and a boon for the province’s already-thriving illicit market – because if there’s anything Quebecers love, it’s rebellion and civil disobedience (and buying beer at the corner store).

Here’s what’s behind Quebec’s cannabis laws and what to know if you’re planning to buy weed in the province. But don’t get too attached to these rules, because if the previous year is any indication, they’ll probably change again.

A brief history of legalization in Quebec

Quebec has a storied history of pre-legalization cannabis culture and activism, culminating in the creation of the Bloc Pot provincial political party in 1997. It was founded by a cannabis consumer who was repeatedly arrested for drug trafficking and wanted to change the province’s pot laws.

Unlike other major cities like Toronto and Vancouver, big cities in Quebec were never dotted with grey-market dispensaries pre-legalization, although a few compassion clubs were scattered across the province.

FILE – Bloc Pot Outremont candidate Maryeve Daigle, and Nelligan’s Blair T. Longley listen to the head of the Bloc Pot party, Hugo St-Onge, during the launch of the electoral campaign in 2003. Photo: THE GAZETTE/Marcos Townsend

The first and most well-known of these is the Montreal Compassion Club, a non-profit medical dispensary founded by three members of the Bloc Pot in 1999, in a location directly across the street from a police station. Despite being the subject of occasional police raids, the MCC is still in operation today.

With regards to consumption, civil disobedience has been a popular response in cities like Montreal for decades (it’s nearly impossible to walk a block on downtown Ste-Catherine street without catching a whiff of weed), and public smoking was increasingly ignored by law enforcement in the decade leading up to federal legalization.

FILE – Volunteer Chrystyna Myatte weighs marijuana for client Gabriel Couturier at the Culture 420 Compassion Club on Wednesday April 07, 2010. Photo: THE GAZETTE/Pierre Obendrauf

How it works — and what you can’t buy

Each province or territory in Canada has its own cannabis distribution model, and Quebec’s is public — privately-run pot shops are illegal. All sales of regulated cannabis take place through the Société québecoise du cannabis (SQDC), a subsidiary of the province’s liquor corporation, the Société des alcools du québec (SAQ).

Quebec’s licensed producers must sell their product directly to the SQDC or have orders shipped out of province.

While products like dried flower, pre-rolls, and oils are readily available, second-wave cannabis products are heavily restricted. Most edibles, such as chocolates, baked goods, and other confections, are prohibited for sale in the province, ostensibly because they could appeal to minors. Quebec’s edible offerings are limited to a few beverages, such as infused tea.

The sale of liquid-filled vape pens and 510 cartridges is also banned. While the originally proposed legislation included a cap of 30 per cent THC (which would have excluded many of the products anyway), reports of vape-related pulmonary illnesses in the U.S. led to a subsequent warning from Quebec’s national public health director and an outright ban on vapes and cartridges in retail stores.

FILE – Customers line up at a government cannabis store in Montreal on October 18, 2018. Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Where to buy cannabis products in Quebec

Currently, there are only four SQDC outlets on the Island of Montreal, with only one in the city’s tourism-heavy downtown. Expect to wait in line to buy regulated weed in the area for locals and visitors alike.

The city of Quebec is also home to four SQDC locations, but none are located downtown or in popular tourist areas. Visitors and urban dwellers must take a small road trip or seek out illicit product if looking to buy weed in Quebec City.

SQDC president and director Jean-François Bergeron announced plans in October 2019 to open 20 new stores by March 2020, which will bring the total number of outlets to 43. At the time of publication, there are a total of 33 locations throughout the province.

The SQDC sold a total of $71 million worth of cannabis products in the first year of legalization. Although it is the second-largest cannabis market in the country, Stats Canada says Quebecers spent just $23 per capita on legal weed in the first year of legalization – trailing in ninth place when ranked against other provinces and territories.

That doesn’t mean Quebecers aren’t smoking a lot of weed, but rather that illicit sellers continue to dominate an estimated 70 per cent of the market.

The province is rife with illicit sellers, many of whom offer lower prices and home delivery – the latter being especially appealing to customers in the midst of Quebec’s frigid winters and hot, humid summers.

FILE – A worker inspects cannabis plants growing in a greenhouse at the Hexo Corp. facility in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. Photo: Chris Roussakis/Bloomberg Photo: Chris Roussakis/Bloomberg

Consumption: where you can’t vape or smoke

When cannabis was federally legalized in 2018, Quebecers were legally permitted to smoke or vape cannabis anywhere that tobacco consumption was also permitted. While CAQ government officials initially planned to ban public consumption, the backlash from many Quebecers – including Montreal mayor Valérie Plante and Quebec union of municipalities president Alexandre Cusson – led junior health minister Lionel Carmant to grant cities the autonomy to determine their own rules.

Regardless of municipal legislation, smoking and vaping are banned in the presence of children; in indoor public spaces (with the exception of designated smoking rooms in certain cases such as in seniors’ homes); in bus shelters; on the grounds of schools; post-secondary institutions and hospitals, and on the terrasses of bars and restaurants.

Municipal governments may impose additional restrictions.

The possession of cannabis is also restricted in certain locations. Prohibited areas include childcare centres, detention centres, and on the grounds of schools and post-secondary institutions (with the exception of student residences).

FILE – A person uses a Pax Labs Inc. Era cannabis vaporizer. Photo: Cayce Clifford/Bloomberg

Driving

Driving under the influence of cannabis is prohibited by law in Quebec, and the penalties are the same as those for driving under the influence of alcohol.

But despite the fact that provincial regulations outline provisions for the commercial transport of the drug, neither the Cannabis Regulation Act nor the Highway Safety Code specify how one can legally transport personal, adult-use cannabis in a vehicle.

Home cultivation

Although the federal Cannabis Act allows for Canadians to grow up to four plants per residents for adult use, home cultivation was initially banned in provincial legislation enacted by the Liberal government of then-premier Phillippe Couillard.

The ban was challenged in Quebec Superior Court and struck down in September 2019, but current CAQ provincial government officials, elected in 2018, have stated their intention to appeal the ruling. Stay tuned.