In about ten months, a loophole will open in some of Canada’s smoking laws which will annoy some and delight others.

Over the last generation, governments at all levels across Canada have steadily restricted smoking tobacco.

B.C.’s Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act does what it says on the label, as does Alberta’s Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act, which begins by saying that ” … ‘smoke’ means to smoke, hold or otherwise have control over a lit tobacco product.”

Ontario’s Smoke-Free Ontario Act doesn’t deal with smoking anything other than tobacco (though a series of amendments, not yet in force, cover marijuana).

Local governments vary in their approach. Toronto’s smoking bylaw covers “… the carrying of a lighted cigar or cigarette, pipe or any other lighted material,” which could cover a joint if need be. Ottawa’s only refers to tobacco.

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WATCH: Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said on Wednesday after the Council of the Federation meeting, both provinces are working towards having a similar framework when it comes to minimum age requirement for access to marijuana.

1:03 Kathleen Wynne on minimum age requirement for access to marijuana Kathleen Wynne on minimum age requirement for access to marijuana

But the underlying assumption, which is that smoking marijuana doesn’t have to be dealt with in smoking laws because it’s illegal anyway, is about to be out of date. And without changes, there will be very few restrictions on where and when someone could smoke pot.

(The required changes aren’t necessarily that complicated: Manitoba’s Bill 25 amended the Non-Smokers Health Protection Act recently by, among other things, adding “or cannabis” after every mention of the word “tobacco.”)

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The Canadian Mental Health Association’s recommendations to the Ontario government , published this week, borrow from existing rules for tobacco and alcohol to cover marijuana. Smoking pot would be banned anywhere it’s now illegal to smoke tobacco, like restaurant patios and playgrounds. It would be limited to private homes and licenced establishments, much like alcohol.