Anyone 19 years old and up will be able to buy recreational marijuana in B.C. once itsa国际传媒檚 legalized next July.

The province has announced it would set the legal minimum age at 19, in line with alcohol and tobacco.

sa国际传媒淲e know the largest consumers of cannabis are young people in that 19- to 30-year-old age range,sa国际传媒� said Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth. sa国际传媒淚f you set [the age] to high, at say 25, yousa国际传媒檙e not going to be able to get rid of that black market.sa国际传媒�

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Also like alcohol, wholesale distribution of recreational pot will be handled by the BC Liquor Distribution Branch.

The drug will also be sold by both public and private retailers, although Farnworth said the government hadnsa国际传媒檛 yet decided whether or not they would place marijuana on the same shelf as booze.

sa国际传媒淓very other province is going through a provincial system,sa国际传媒� he said, sa国际传媒渁nd it allows us a significant control, which the public has said is important.sa国际传媒�

Farnworth did not go further into taxation, zoning, local government input or what exactly the retail model will look, saying those details will come early next year.

The province is sa国际传媒渁cutelysa国际传媒� aware, he added, that a too-high price wonsa国际传媒檛 be able to knock out the black market.

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He did express optimism that the federal government had sa国际传媒渂acked offsa国际传媒� its 50-50 taxation split, but said B.C. was not relying on revenue from taxation yet, citing startup costs and indecision from Ottawa.

Tuesdaysa国际传媒檚 announcement comes after several weeks of public consultation that collected input from nearly 50,000 British Columbians, as well as submissions from 141 local and Indigenous governments.

Troy, the manager of Vancouversa国际传媒檚 Lime Life Society who did not want his last name published, said the proposed regulations are overbearing for an industry that he says has done fine on its own.

sa国际传媒淭he plan to sell it in liquor stores is completely unfeasible and unreasonable,sa国际传媒� he told Black Press. sa国际传媒淯nfortunately, itsa国际传媒檚 people making decisions about products and services they donsa国际传媒檛 know much about, or arensa国际传媒檛 educated on.

sa国际传媒淗opefully, anything they do will be challenged with Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge.sa国际传媒�

The federal bill to legalize and regulate marijuana, introduced in early 2017, in the House of Commons last week.

It now moves to the Senate, where it is likely to face heavy opposition from Conservatives who argue legalization should be delayed because the process is being rushed.

: Province to set age for recreational marijuana use at 19, go with a wholesale distribution model and have private and public retail outlets. More details to come in 2018

sa国际传媒� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)