Hundreds of Canadians have taken to the streets to celebrate the legalization of recreational marijuana following a nearly century-long ban.
Canada officially became the first industrialized nation to legalize the drug on Wednesday following a two-year push by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, which hopes to bring dealers out of the black market and into a regulated system.
Cannabis connoisseurs appear to have embraced the new system as massive queues formed outside many of the 111 legal pot shops now open around the country.
Eager consumers were pictured spewing smoke on the sidewalks, using up products almost certainly purchased on the black market as they waited to get their hands on the legal version.
Celebrations are being held across Canada on Wednesday following the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Two cannabis connoisseurs are seen parading through Montreal with a Canadian flag bearing a pot leaf in place of a maple one
Hundreds of cannabis-loving Canadians lined up to get their hands on legal marijuana at over 100 stores across the nation
A man smokes a joint next to a sign marking the end of more than a century of marijuana prohibition in the northern nation
A man fights the frigid weather by dancing on the sidewalk as he waits in line to purchase legal cannabis at a store in Montreal
Hugo Senecal, the first customer to enter the Quebec Cannabis Society (SQDC) store, smokes joint with his legal purchase
Another customer outside SQDC in Montreal shows off his purchase to a swarm of reporters documenting the historic day
A customer smiles excitedly as he exits a Natural Vibe store in St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, on Wednesday
However, it seems not everyone has gotten the legalization message.
Toronto police launched a public awareness campaign Wednesday reminding people to stop calling authorities to snitch on their neighbors’ marijuana use now that it’s legal.
The police force posted a series of snarky tweets featuring people calling 911 for obviously absurd reasons in order to make its point.
One of the tweets shows a stock image of a woman struggling to read a map along with the words: ‘Asking for directions because you’re lost is not a 9-1-1 call. Reporting an adult smoking a joint isn’t either.’
Another shows a woman looking in her refrigerator with the words: ‘Asking what to do with your frozen meat during a power outage is not a 9-1-1 call. Smelling weed coming from your neighbor’s home isn’t either.’
Both tweets include notes about where it is legal to consume marijuana (anywhere cigarette smoking is allowed except in a motor vehicle) and who is allowed to consume it (anyone 19 years an older) along with a note that the aforementioned goofy 911 call was actually made to police.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is seen on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday as the nation celebrates weed legalization
Toronto police launched a public awareness campaign Wednesday to remind people to stop calling authorities to snitch on their neighbors’ marijuana use now that its legal. Two snarky tweets from the police force are shown above
Massive queues formed overnight in cities across Canada as marijuana became legal under federal law at midnight
A man checks out his purchase outside the Quebec Cannabis Society (SQDC) store in Montreal on Wednesday morning
A man smokes from a glass bong as he waits in line to purchase legal cannabis outside a government store in Montreal