Cannabis IQ: What separates you from the pot culture, and more? – National

You can grow your own legal marijuana plants – as long as you can grow them from seeds you have legally purchased.

And just for the moment, there is none, so you can not. Provincial cannabis monopolies would like to sell seeds, but licensed growers do not sell them seeds.

Eventually, once the seeds and young plants are legally available, it will be impossible to determine if your plants were grown from seed that started on the right side of the law.

But currently, it will be obvious that they were not.

How long can this strange situation last? Not forever – Ottawa issues "nursery licenses" to small producers, which will eventually be a source of seeds and plants for legal vendors, other than authorized producers.

Nursery license holders are also allowed to buy seeds from gray market producers on an ad hoc basis – they must declare them once when the license is requested and never buy again afterwards.

So when will you be able to try pot-gardening? Canopy Growth is promising seeds by next spring, and an expert we talked to expects this to happen within three to six months. But for the moment, the potted culture is still a detail of the legalization to be completed.

WATCH: Blair does not worry about the marijuana shortage in the provinces

In short:

• Mexico appears to be moving towards the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes after a court ruling this week.
• Some East Asian countries are definitely not. South Korea and Japan have warned their citizens that they would commit a crime at home if they smoked marijuana here. China disapprove but stopped without the threat of arrest. And on Wednesday, Ottawa warned that travelers to Singapore could be greeted with a drug test upon arrival and could be subject to arrest and prosecution.
• The Ontario ombudsman said his office had received more than 1,000 complaints from customers about the Ontario Cannabis Store, the only legal way for 40% of Canadians to buy jars. The most common complaints are delays in delivery, poor communication with customers and billing issues.
• A criminology professor points out that the black market will probably prosper as long as supply problems persist in the legal market.
• The Mayor of Estevan, Saskatchewan, said residents had been turned away from the nearby US border for admitting to having smoked marijuana.
• And Calgary police operate checkpoints to search for impaired drivers with alcohol and marijuana. Signs of stoned drivers include "bloodshot or shiny eyes, obviously smell, impaired motor skills, speech disorders,"According to an officer.

WATCH: Ottawa to "free and quick pardon" for simple pot possession charges

You asked: Will people who buy marijuana online have proof that it was legally purchased? If I am arrested by the police, how can I prove that my weed is legal?

The short answer is that you do not have to do it. If you are over 19 or 18 in some provinces, you can legally have 30 grams of dried flowers (or the equivalent) in public without having to report where it comes from.

"Or the equivalent" is something that can be confusing, but does not necessarily have to be. For example, Health Canada has determined the amount of gel capsules equal to 30 grams of dried flowers, and online retailers are set to notify you, so you can know if the assortment of cannabis products entering your basket have exceeded the equivalent of 30 grams.

How much is 30 grams? A double handle, if you have big hands.

WATCH: Marijuana: the good, the bad and the just confusing

Legalization of marijuana

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