Although today is the day that cannabis becomes legal across Canada, it is going to take some time for the various provincial and municipal regulations to come into force in order to fully realize what legalization will look like in Canada.

The landscape of cannabis legalization in Ontario changed significantly just a few months ago when the provincial election resulted in a new Premier with a very different vision for cannabis in the province. Ontario was previously headed down the road for cannabis to be sold only in government-run stores, but there are now expected to be privately owned stores up and running by Spring 2019. Ontarians who had hoped to celebrate the first day of legalization by consuming their legally-bought cannabis will have to wait until next week because they can only purchase from Licensed Producers (LPs) through the mail. LPs who were hoping to run some of these stores have been disappointed by the draft legislation, which limits LPs to a single store, which must be located at their production facilities.

Additionally, both edibles and concentrates are not included in the Cannabis Act and are not expected to be legalized until next year. Today is a big step towards the legalization of cannabis in Canada, but it is not the final step, and there will be many more changes ahead.