How'd we get here?

Two words: Justin Trudeau. Three years ago, in the federal election, he promised to legalize recreational pot use. After the Liberals won, the new government immediately set about to fufill that pledge.

Earlier in the day, at a media briefing across from Parliament Hill, bureaucrats from seven federal departments patiently answered questions about the thousands of rules and regulations that will govern the sale of cannabis.

And at a scrappy end of Merivale Road, an engaging young man in red running shoes sat in the waiting room of an illegal marijuana dispensary, chatting about the stigma that still surrounds the evil weed.

As the arrival of legal cannabis looms, school boards across Ontario are grappling with how to discuss the drug with underage students barred from consuming it while ensuring rules and policies reflect the province's new legal and social reality.

Like alcohol, recreational cannabis will be off-limits to those under 19 and banned from school property when it becomes legal on Wednesday, and school boards say they are working to update their codes of conduct and disciplinary processes to reflect the details of provincial law.

Many boards say they are also training staff to deal with questions and issues surrounding cannabis both in and out of the classroom as they await further direction from the government.

The manager of Cannabis House in Edmonton has no idea how many people will pass through the doors Wednesday, but he’s guessing it will be “pretty crazy.”

Schmitt’s store is one of 17 retailers across Alberta to secure an interim cannabis licence from Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC).

Fire and Flower has three stores opening in the province Wednesday, all in the Edmonton area.

Nathan Mison, vice-president of stakeholder and government relations, said Fire and Flower developed a training program called Cannabis 101 to make sure employees are ready. Frontline sales staff called ‘cannistas’ (“We’re trying to start the new barista,” Mison explains) will have 90 hours of training under their belts when they hit the sales floor.

NHL players say the legalization of marijuana in Canada won’t change how they go about their business.

With recreational cannabis set to become legal across the country on Wednesday, NHLers are aware of the change, but not concerned it will impact them for the time being.

“I think it’s just a new concept that everyone’s trying to wrap their head around,” Toronto Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri said. ”We just treat the rules as they have been in the past.”

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last month that pot legalization won’t affect the league’s drug-testing policy run in conjunction with the NHL Players’ Association.

A single federal law legalized recreational cannabis in Canada. But a patchwork of rules and regulations govern how you will be able to buy and consume pot. Some provinces will allow private retailers to sell pot, others are government controlled monopolies.

B.C. will have just one government-run pot store up and running in time for legalization, while Nunavut will offer sales by telephone. Ontario is still trying to get legislation through that will allow for private retailing (likely to begin next spring). This interactive tool allows you to select a province or territory and see everything from the possession limits, to the retail model and consumption rules. Below, find more information and links for each province and territory in Canada.

The cannabis hype is about to come face-to-face with reality.

After Canada legalizes recreational marijuana on Oct. 17, it will only take a quarter or two for clear winners and losers to emerge, according to investors and analysts who follow the sector. This means investors will have to get choosier as the days of highly correlated stock moves draw to a close.

“These have all been concept stocks and they’re going to actually have to be real companies in another few months, which I think a lot of guys are terrified about,” said Greg Taylor, who manages the Purpose Marijuana Opportunities Fund. Taylor prefers CannTrust Holdings Inc., Hexo Corp. and Organigram Holdings Inc., which he says trade at a “more realistic valuation” than some of their bigger peers.

As many as 100 locations across the country may be ready to sell cannabis on Wednesday when recreational pot is legalized across the country, but most Canadians' first purchase of legal pot will likely be at the click of a button.

Provincial and territorial governments and private retailers say they believe they're ready for the surge of online shoppers, but it is unclear how high pot demand will actually be.

The Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission has been testing their online cannabis sales portal developed with OnX Enterprise Solutions to iron out any issues before it goes live and is "feeling good to go," said spokeswoman Heather Holmen.

Whether parents are planning to smoke recreational cannabis in Canada or not, health officials are urging them to plan to talk to their kids about pot. 

It’s no surprise that as the Oct. 17 legalization of cannabis inches closer and closer, some parents have already attempted to navigate through approaching the issue of pot with their children.

Meanwhile, others may be at a loss with how to even start the conversation – let alone what to say.

Black Press Media spoke with Emily Jenkins from UBC’s School of Nursing, who was able to share a few tips that could come in handy when it comes to having the talk.

The sands of time are passing quickly. In a mere two days, adults in Canada will be free to legally purchase recreational cannabis in licensed dispensaries and on websites in provinces where online sales are permitted. Though legalization has been a long time coming, the expectation is that it'll result in billions of dollars in added annual sales.