A sign reads "for a responsible usage" as people enter a cannabis store on October 17, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec. - Nearly a century of marijuana prohibition came to an end Wednesday as Canada became the first major Western nation to legalize and regulate its sale and recreational use. Scores of customers braved the cold for hours outside Tweed, a pot boutique in St John's, Newfoundland that opened briefly at midnight, to buy their first grams of legal cannabis.In total, Statistics Canada says 5.4 million Canadians will buy cannabis from legal dispensaries in 2018 -- about 15 percent of the population. Around 4.9 million already smoke. (Photo by MARTIN OUELLET-DIOTTE / AFP)MARTIN OUELLET-DIOTTE/AFP/Getty Images