Canada on Wednesday became the world's first major economy to fully legalize cannabis, sparking celebrations on the streets as the country embarked on the controversial drug policy experiment. Throughout the country huge lines outside pot shops snaked around city blocks.

Scores of customers braved the cold for hours outside Tweed, a pot boutique in St John's, Newfoundland that opened at midnight, to buy their first grams of legal cannabis. Ian Power said prior to its grand opening, he was happy to "make history" by being the first to legally buy pot in Canada.

"I'm elated. I'm so excited, I can't stop smiling. I'm not cold. It's freezing cold out, but I'm not cold," he said. In Cape Breton, platinum record-selling fiddler Ashley MacIsaac was among the first buyers, while in Toronto revelers attended a "Wake and Bake" party with music, a glass pipe blower and campfire treats.

"It's fun, good for the soul, and now legal so we don't have to stress about that anymore," Sebastien Bouzats from Montreal told AFP. "We don't have to hide it anymore."

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018