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SASKATOON — The Canadian Cancer Society and the Lung Association are recommending that Saskatchewan make 21 the legal age to buy marijuana.

The organizations are also recommending the province treat pot in much the same way as tobacco when it becomes legal next July.

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They say marijuana use should be prohibited in public places such as restaurant and bar patios, parks, playgrounds, sports fields and any other municipal or provincial place where people gather.

The provincial government has not yet introduced its plan for marijuana legalization.

Donna Pasiechnik, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Cancer Society, says the recommendations are based on public surveys and research.

She says children and teens must be protected from the health consequences of smoking marijuana.

“We know that second-hand marijuana smoke has many of the same toxic chemicals that cigarette, tobacco, smoke has and so we’re very concerned about vulnerable groups like youth and children,” she said Tuesday.

The organizations also say the government should set marijuana rules for the entire province rather than have each municipality pass its own bylaws.