Weed has been legal for nearly 12 hours in eastern Canada, so let's just all chill out and take a wee munchie break.

Just kidding.

The BBC's Robin Levinson King in Toronto has visited an unlicensed cannabis dispensary where marijuana is sold illegally.

Cannabis is only available in Ontario through a government website for now.

Edible marijuana - including in cake form - is not yet legal either.

The cake below was marijuana-themed, not flavoured.

Image source, Getty Images

News cameras are gathering outside Canadian pot shops as they begin to open in some of Canada's western time zones.

Cannabis customers who don't mind getting their picture taken are gleefully displaying their purchases as they exit the shops.

The leader of Canada's opposition Conservative Party, Andrew Scheer, has taken to Twitter to criticise Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for whom legalisation is a fulfillment of a 2015 campaign promise.

"In an rush to meet his self-imposed political deadline, Trudeau has failed to address concerns about his cannabis legalisation legislation," he wrote, tagging two other parliamentary members of the opposition.

The US Embassy in Canada has issued a reminder that weed remains illegal in the US.

Still have questions? Check out the embassy's FAQ page about how Canada's legalisation will impact US travel., external

The BBC's Anna Holligan went to a Dutch coffee shop today to ask if Canada had snatched away the Netherlands' famed reputation for marijuana tolerance.

One smoker there said he had a feeling they "missed the boat" by simply decriminalising - rather than fully legalising - cannabis.

Another Dutch guy told her that he doesn't feel that "we've been left behind".

Americans travelling to Canada will be able to enjoy the herb there, but they are strictly prohibiting from bringing it back across the more than 6,000km border into the US.

Washington state, which borders British Columbia, was the first state in the US to legalise marijuana in 2012.

But the border between the two is run by the US federal government, which has not decriminalised or legalised marijuana on a federal level.

So despite both regions allowing for cannabis consumption, there is still that small strip of land that remains a no-weed zone - the only place on the western North America coast where cannabis remains illegal.

Here are a few things Americans should know about cannabis in Canada:

• The US Customs and Border Protection says there will be longer wait times for Americans returning to the US, as searches of luggage and vehicles become more thorough
• More American tourists are expected to travel to Canada to partake in the budding industry
• US border patrol agents can turn away a Canadian citizen if they admit to smoking weed and that agent thinks there is a chance they may consume it in the US
• As Canada becomes the world's largest cannabis market, it could trigger a brain drain of US cannabis workers who may leave states such as California, Colorado, and Alaska

Across Canada, police Twitter accounts are finding fun ways to remind people not to drive impaired.

As the largest country to legalise cannabis (out of two), experts say Canada will be an informative test market for a legal weed industry.

But even on the first day of legalisation, federally licensed producers are seeing supply issues, Market Watch reports, external.

One CEO told Market Watch his company had to trash 14,000 marijuana plants simply because they were too short-staffed to harvest them.

Now, with big investors eyeing the market, weed companies are under pressure to grow the best product as efficiently as possible.

The BBC's Robin Levinson King says glass blowers are making weed paraphernalia at a party in Toronto while waiting for retailers to open.

Vanessa Buschschluter
Latin America and Caribbean Editor, BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Uruguay may be much, much smaller than Canada but the South American nation beat Canada to become the first in the world to legally sell cannabis over the counter for recreational use in 2017.

It took Uruguay four years to put the law into practice, which made it legal to grow, sell and consume marijuana. But there are still some restrictions as to who can and can’t buy it.

Buyers are required to sign up on a national registrar and only Uruguayan citizens and permanent residents are allowed to put their names down.

The marijuana sold in pharmacies is grown in state-supervised fields and some buyers have complained it is rather weak.

Image source, Getty Images

Users can also choose to grow up to six plants in their own home or join a cannabis growers’ club, where they can purchase up to 480g each per year - which can be stronger than that sold at pharmacies.

Support for the legal sale of marijuana has gone up since the law was first passed and now 44% back it compared to 42% who oppose it.

However, the move has failed to completely eradicate the illegal trade in marijuana.

With tourists banned from buying it legally, there’s still a black market.

But officials say there are fewer traffickers now.

The BBC's Robin Levinson King spoke to Jimson Bienenstock, the owner of Hot Black Coffee, where a #LegalizationDay party is ongoing.

He says legalising marijuana means people won't have to worry about fentanyl or other contaminants when buying weed.

"I'd like to celebrate the fact that there's going to be way more research for medical uses and the physiological uses," he says.

"And this is a celebration that marijuana is going to get better, more consistent, and guaranteed."

Thomas H Clark's shop in Newfoundland is among the first businesses to sell customer legal cannabis at midnight.

He told BBC World News that his first customer was his father.

One customer told CBC that he planned to frame his first legal gram, along with a plaque declaring "we won".

Image source, Getty Images

Recent years have seen a new craze for cannabidiol (CBD) products. But what exactly is CBD?

Cannabis plants are made up of more than 100 different cannabinoids, which have different impacts on the body and are concentrated to different extents in certain parts of the plant.

The most well-known of these are THC and CBD.

THC is the psychoactive cannabinoid - the one that recreational users use to get "high". CBD does not have this effect.

CBD oil has been thought to have some medicinal properties, including relieving inflammation, pain relief and reducing anxiety, although there have not been conclusive scientific studies on this.

The CBD industry is expected to be worth over $2b (£1.5b) by 2022, according to some experts, external.

The BBC's Robin Levinson King is in downtown Toronto, keeping up with celebrations as patrons light up.

The Royal Ontario Museum is fulfilling all your pot pun needs this #LegalizationDay.

At a press conference, Canada’s top federal officials who helped usher in the new law reiterated their stance that legalisation will be a boon for Canadian’s health and safety.

"We are lifting the prohibition to enable us to create a far more comprehensive system of strict regulatory control," said Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair.

Blair, who was once Toronto's chief of police, says the new law will take money out of the pockets of organised crime and ensure the drug stays out of the hands of children.

Marijuana is still illegal for youths under the age of majority, and many provinces have raised the legal age of consumption to coincide with the legal drinking age, which varies between 18-19 across the country.

But under the new legislation, Blair said police have more latitude when they encounter youths breaking the law.

"They can do it in a newly proportionate and effective way, they don’t have to criminalise that child," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

A Montreal cannabis store opened its doors to reporters' cameras a day before customers were officially welcome.

The store - owned by the SQDC (Société québecoise du cannabis) - is gleaming and spotless, in advance of the expected rush.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images