Canada’s national legalization of marijuana has put it at odds with the United States where, despite growing state-level legalization, marijuana remains strictly illegal at the federal level. It was inevitable that the different approaches to marijuana would create friction between the two countries. It appears increasingly likely that this friction will be felt most acutely at the border.

On September 26, 2018 Attorney General and the Minister of Finance released highly anticipated information regarding the proposed legislation on private cannabis retail store ownership. The legislation is expected to be released this morning with regulations to follow.

Canada’s October 17th Legal cannabis – On June 20th 2018 the Government of Canada passed the final vote on Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act – given Royal Assent on June 21st. Since then, each province and territory in the country has been scrambling to put together their own set of guidelines on its sales and use, trickling all the way down to the municipalities, who in turn are creating their own rules. Canada’s October 17th Legal cannabis is enough to make everyone a bit dizzy – without even having inhaled that first puff.

“I think a lot of people who want to have a bottle of wine in a public park on a Sunday are probably going to be doing that anyway,” said Mitchell Kosny, interim director of Ryerson University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning.

The idea of legalizing alcohol in parks and on beaches has come up in Toronto and Vancouver, both of which are in the midst of municipal elections and both of which are in provinces that will allow people to toke in public come Oct. 17.

Kosny said he suspects the idea is floating around now because election candidates and front runners may want to appear “open-minded.”

Hip hop and cannabis are a great combo, according to rapper Raekwon, who once said the music he recorded with his fellow Wu Tang Clan members was fuelled by weed and pizza. So it's no surprise that the Quebec-based cannabis grower HEXO tapped Wu Tang for a free concert tonight in Toronto, but Health Canada isn't a fan of the event, which could be breaking the government's strict rules for licensed producers.

Many Canadian police services are still "putting the finishing touches" on the rules surrounding officers' consumption of cannabis, less than three weeks before marijuana is legalized for recreational use.

So far, Calgary is the only jurisdiction with a complete abstinence policy.

Officers in the Calgary Police Service will be banned from consuming marijuana even on their days off or vacations — a policy that the police union says it plans to fight. Other police departments with policies in place require officers to be "fit for duty," more in line with the rules surrounding the consumption of alcohol and prescription drugs.

Calgary police officers will not be allowed to consume marijuana once it's legalized even on their days off — and the union representing members is unhappy, saying the service "took the easy way out."

The abstinence directive was issued to CPS staff on Friday less than four weeks before recreational marijuana is legalized across the country.

"Sworn members who are qualified to use firearms and are able to be operationally deployed are prohibited from using recreational cannabis while on or off duty," reads the policy, a copy of which was obtained by CBC News.

'Path of least resistance'

The policy "pretty much covers everybody in the service," said union president Les Kaminski, adding CPS has taken the "path of least resistance."

The Ontario government is setting a framework for recreational cannabis retailing that emphasizes widespread competition and deals a blow to licensed marijuana producers by limiting their share of the market.

Finance Minister Vic Fedeli and Attorney-General Caroline Mulroney said on Wednesday during a joint news conference that there will be an unlimited number of stores that can sell recreational cannabis in Ontario, but that they will drastically limit licensed growers to just one store each at an Ontario production site. The proposed legislation, which will be introduced on Thursday, also leaves the door open for the province to restrict how many licences a single entity could hold, but no number has been set.

Canada’s largest province is set to unveil a new law this week that will shape the future of cannabis legalization in Ontario, sources told MarketWatch on Tuesday, addressing the open question about how the substance will be sold in retail shops in the country’s most populous province.

Ontario has not yet created guidelines for how cannabis will be sold in brick-and-mortar retail shops, unlike the other Canadian provinces. The new law is set to define who can enter the market and where they will be allowed to sell cannabis in the country’s largest city, Toronto, and the rest of the region, according to people in Ontario who are familiar with the cannabis legislation.

Some Canadian police forces are hesitant to use a federally approved roadside marijuana test, raising questions about the Liberal government's decision to give the devices the green light.

Vancouver's police department is among those that won't use the Drager DrugTest 5000 when pot is legalized next month because it says the device doesn't work in sub-zero temperatures, is bulky and takes too long to produce a sample.

"We're just not comfortable moving forward with this machine and we're looking at other options," said Sgt. Jason Robillard.

Police in Delta, B.C., say their officers won't use the device this year but the department hasn't made a decision about 2019, while Edmonton police and B.C.'s provincial RCMP say no decisions have been made yet.