Recreational cannabis becomes legal in Canada in a little over a month, and the province is letting the public know what will and won't be allowed here in Manitoba.

The Liquor, Gaming, and Cannabis Authority -- as it's now known -- launched phase one of a public education campaign yesterday.

Justice minister Cliff Cullen reiterated some of the laws that will apply to cannabis in Manitoba come October 17th.

"The legal age for cannabis consumption in Manitoba is 19 years old. It is also an offence to sell cannabis to a young person and to provide identification to a young person for the purpose of purchasing cannabis or entering an age-restricted cannabis store... cannabis cannot be consumed in public places in Manitoba. Smoking and vaping of cannabis will be prohibited in public places, including streets and sidewalks, parks and beaches, school grounds, and restaurant patios and decks. Additionally, our government has made the decision to prohibit growing cannabis in the home," said Cullen.

The LGCA conducted an anonymous survey of 1,200 Manitobans in 2017, and LGCA CAO Elizabeth Stephenson says more recently there was a focus panel testing follow-up. She says their research shows there is some uncertainty about what people can and can't do under the law when cannabis is legalized.

"Helping people to understand what the laws are will help them to abide by those laws, and that's really the intent of the messaging we've created, that people will start seeing out and about in Manitoba in public spaces, also on some of their social media feeds, and places like buses, transit, et cetera," said Stephenson.

Stephenson says there are five key messages to their current education campain:

  • You must be 19 to purchase legal cannabis.
  • Legal cannabis can only be bought from retail stores licenced by the LGCA.
  • You can smoke or vape retail cannabis at home, but not in public.
  • You can't grow cannabis at home.
  • There are limits to how much cannabis you can carry in public.