Ontario residents can now buy cannabis online, must wait for retail stores

Flowering marijuana plants are pictured during a tour of Tweed in Smiths Falls, Ontario on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

TORONTO - Ontario residents can now legally buy cannabis online, though they'll have to wait until early next year to purchase some from a store.

Recreational cannabis is legal in Canada for those 19 and over as of today, with each province responsible for regulating the sale and consumption of the drug.

Ontario's Progressive Conservative government recently announced cannabis would initially be sold online through a government agency, followed by private retail stores in April.

But proposed legislation that would allow people to smoke marijuana anywhere they can smoke cigarettes, with the exception of cars and boats, has not yet passed.

Until it does, the rules implemented by the previous Liberal government remain in effect, which means people can only smoke marijuana in their own home.

The Tory bill, which also lays out a licensing regime for the future cannabis stores, is expected to pass this week.