OTTAWA - Bill Blair says the federal government won't interfere if Quebec decides to raise the age limit for legal consumption of marijuana to 21 years.

The minister responsible for border security and organized crime reduction says Ottawa will leave it to the provinces to decide their own age limits.

Quebec's newly-elected governing party, the Coalition Avenir Quebec, campaigned on a pledge to increase the legal age for consuming cannabis from the current 18 years.

While the CAQ says it intends to follow through on that promise, questions have been raised about whether that can be done before pot becomes legal across the country on Oct. 17.

Blair says he's not concerned about age limits imposed by provinces.

He says the federal government is focused on getting cannabis out of the hands of youth and preventing organized crime from profiting from the drug.

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