OTTAWA – With the Quebec government announcing that it will restrict the age for purchasing cannabis at 21, an intensive immersion program has added a new initiative for intercultural alcohol and cannabis consumption.

Explore’s five-week intensive bilingual drinking and smoking program will help youngsters get a headstart in another culture’s casual approach to controlled substances in a different language.

“We want to expose English and French speakers to the cultural differences that are sometimes confusing, such as Quebec having a legal drinking age of 18, but a legal cannabis age of 21,” said Explore’s program director Marie-eve Robertson. “This is hard for many 16-year-olds to understand, but we hope to change that.”

Robertson explained that whether you’re a 16-year-old anglophone getting shitfaced in Trois-Riviere or 17-year-old francophone in Hamilton buying cannabis with a fake ID, the experience will be unforgettable for all participants.

“Teens will be given every opportunity to sneak out from either a family home or a university residence for an important sociocultural activity with other teens,” added Robertson.

The program expects anglophones to learn phrases such as «Je suis guerlot» or «J’étais soûle en crisse!» and francophones to understand and apply terms such as “I’m baked” and “Let’s burn one down!”

Meanwhile, there was a touching scene of national unity at the Quebec-Ontario border as high schoolers exchanged Ontario hash for Quebec beer.