Marijuana Became Fully Legal in Canada at Midnight

A dream came true at midnight for Newfoundland man Ian Power: He became the first person to legally buy marijuana in Canada for recreational use. Power was the first in line at a new store in the country's easternmost province—and earliest time zone—when recreational marijuana officially became legal, the CBC reports. Power says he hopes legalization will end the stigma around pot use. "I think the social stigma of the 'stupid stoner' or the criminal element for using cannabis, a benign substance, as my choice of medicine or recreation, I think that's gonna change," says Power, who plans to frame his historic purchase instead of smoking it. "Prohibition has ended right now," he says. "We just made history." More:

• World's biggest legal pot market. With 37 million people, Canada is now the world's biggest marketplace for legal recreational marijuana, the AP reports. Users will be served by at least 111 stores opening their doors Wednesday, though in Ontario, the most populous province, the only legal sales currently are online. The province hopes to open stores in a few months, when it has finalized new regulations. The only other country to have fully legalized recreational pot is Uruguay.

• What's legal where. The Toronto Star has a guide to the different rules on legalization in cities, provinces, and territories across Canada. The legal age for buying marijuana is 19 in every province except Alberta and Quebec, where it is 18. Canadians will be able to buy and possess marijuana legally, and grow up to four plants, but whether they can smoke it in public will depend on the jurisdiction.
• Medical marijuana will continue. Canada legalized medical marijuana in 2001 and the system will continue as it is for some 330,000 users, some of whom receive medical pot through their drug plans, the New York Times reports.
• Waiting for 50 years. At another store that opened in Newfoundland early Wednesday, owner Thomas H. Clarke made the first sale to his father, who has been using marijuana illegally for 50 years. Don Clarke says buying marijuana legally is "awesome," but "a bit late—I mean, we could have done this in 1969 or '71," he tells the CBC.

• Pardons are coming. Sources tell CTV and other outlets that Canada's federal government plans to announce Wednesday that it will pardon people with convictions for possessing up to 30 grams of marijuana, the maximum a person can carry in public under the new law.
• Supply hiccups. Not every Canadian who wants to will be able to get their hands on legal marijuana straight away, CNN reports. Officials in provinces including Nova Scotia and Manitoba say there will not be a large selection available, while Trevor Fencott, chief executive of Fire and Flower, says the government has only supplied enough pot to open three of its 15 new stores in Alberta.
• Border trouble. Recreational marijuana is also legal in nine American states, but it remains illegal at the federal level and American border officials have said Canadians who admit using cannabis could be refused entry. Immigration lawyer Len Saunders tells the Washington Post that he advises Canadians who have used pot to refuse to answer if asked about cannabis use by a border officer—and to not attempt to cross the border that day.

(In California, pot products keep failing safety tests.)