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But that is exactly what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned of Wednesday.

Trudeau lamented that “an 18-year-old this week could buy cannabis legally, but in a few months maybe he’ll just have to buy it from Hells Angels.”

He told reporters in Ottawa, “These are questions the (Quebec) government will have to answer, but they will make their decisions as they are entitled to do.”

Carmant, a neurologist, said the province will invest $25 million in awareness campaigns beginning at a young age to warn about the effects of cannabis.

“I am convinced that the measures we are proposing today will have the effect of stopping many young people,” he said. He hopes to have the law adopted by March.

The federal law legalizing cannabis consumption sets the minimum age at 18 but gives provinces the power to increase it. In all other provinces and territories, the legal age is 18 or 19.

The federal government said it would not get involved should there be a legal challenge to the proposed Quebec law.

“No, we don’t have any intention to intervene in any legal proceedings,” said federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor. “It’s entirely the responsibility of the province of Quebec to choose the age of consumption.”

Quebec had previously parted ways with Ottawa on the issue of home cultivation of cannabis. Federal law allows people to grow up to four plants per home, but Quebec’s existing law prohibits the practice.

In Montreal, Mayor Valerie Plante said she was “extremely disappointed” with the provincial bill, saying it undermines the city’s autonomy.