Canadians can legally buy and consume cannabis as of Oct. 17, announced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday.

But why specifically that date — is there any significance?

Trudeau explained at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon that choosing Oct. 17 as the legalization date was simply a response to provinces’ concerns that they need more time.

However, Twitter has some other possible explanations.

Robert Benzie, the Star’s Queen’s Park Bureau Chief, pointed out that Oct. 17 is also the 50th birthday of Ziggy Marley, the son of reggae legend Bob Marley.

The late Bob Marley is a global icon of marijuana culture.

Susan Delacourt, a political writer and freelance columnist for the Star, noticed that Oct. 17 is one day before what would have been former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s 99th birthday.

Twitter user Kevan McDougall gets the award for most creative theory, when he worked out that if you divide the month (10) by the day (17), the answer is 0.58823529. If you then add up each of those numbers (5+8+8+2+3+5+2+9) the answer is 42.0. A subliminal nod to 4/20 — or April 20, annual weed day, perhaps?

“I don’t even smoke marijuana. I just really like math,” McDougall tweeted.

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Marie-Danielle Smith, a politics reporter for the National Post, tweeted that Oct. 17 is in the 42nd week of 2018. Again, another 4/20 reference?

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And if we weren’t already deep enough down the rabbit hole, Smith also tweeted, “There were 420 days between the first reading in the House of Commons and the third-reading vote in the Senate.”

She noted that our current government is the 42nd Canadian Parliament in power as well.

Whether these are simply coincidences or proof of the legalization date’s true meaning is for you to judge. But what we do know for certain is the countdown to marijuana legalization has begun.

In the meantime, federal cabinet ministers stressed Wednesday that pot use isn’t yet legal and that existing prohibitions still remain in place.

Claire Floody is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @claire_floody

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