Bluntly speaking, some of these cannabis plans may be half-baked

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Pot shots aside, the rollout of legalized cannabis will be one of the first real tests for the new provincial government. And the haze surrounding what will be legal or illegal won't lift until we know who's at the helm. (We're just getting started with the puns...)

How high do you rank a party's cannabis platform in your own decision-making? Not to be a buzzkill, but they're all not created equal. Here's what you need to know on day 35.

The Breakout

By Benjamin Shingler, @benshingler

We've all got our sights set on election day, but another big day is looming.

Just over two weeks after the Oct. 1 election, the province's new government will be faced with its first big policy challenge: the legalization of cannabis.

Provincial elections have had an impact on marijuana rules elsewhere.

In Ontario, pot was supposed to be sold in publicly owned outlets. Then the Progressive Conservatives took over and changed the plans the government privatized in-store sales but will handle online sales.

Quebec's political parties all have plans in place for how they would sell and manage the substance. Depending on who wins next week, we could see some major changes to the rules that have already been announced.

The front-running Coalition Avenir Qubec, for instance, wants to raise the legal age limit to 21.

But there's a sense that some of the parties' ideas are still in the development stage.

Even the Liberals, when they introduced their legislation last June, stressed the law was a work in progress.

We've taken a closer look at what each party wants to do about pot. Read on.

The Mic

You've sent in a lot of queries about where the parties stand on cannabis. So we rounded up some of the highlights to get you an answer to the question: What will the provincial laws look like if each party was in power?

If the Liberals stay in power, we'll stick with the cannabis law we already have: legal age of 18, maximum of 150 grams of dried cannabis per domicile, only government-run retailers can sell it, and you can't grow your own at home.

The only party looking to tighten Quebec's cannabis law is the CAQ. The party wants the legal age to be 21and would ban smoking in all public areas (the Liberals have left some of that to municipalities to decide).

While Qubec Solidaire voted in favour of the Liberals' bill, they say things would be different if they were in charge. QS would allow Quebecers to grow their own weed to prevent them from being subject to what they call a "cartel" of Canadian producers.

The PQ would allow two cannabis plants to be grown per home. They would also revisit where the pot is coming from (they want it to be Quebec-grown), and have said they're open to designated cannabis-smoking locations like "coffee shops."

The Breakdown

• Another prominent separatist is going after Manon Mass. Gilles Duceppe says her spoken French isn't good enough to be the leader of the province. Massbrushed off his attack, saying she speaks like a regular person. Duceppealso said he doubtsQubec Solidaire's commitment to sovereignty and issaltyabout the fact thatQShas supported theNDPfederally.
• Isabelle Brais, Franois Legault's wife, has apologized for taking a few shots at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month. She said she doesn't think Trudeau is "competent," and while his father was brilliant, he is not. Read more

• Remember when ric Caire, the CAQ party stalwart, was in hot water a few weeks back over a $55,000 loan he received last year? He has been cleared of wrongdoing by the National Assembly's ethics commissioner. A Liberal MNA filed a conflict of interest complaint over the loan, which Caire received from a mayor in his riding.

The Trail: Dispatches from the road

By Cathy Senay, @CatSenay

It's the last week of the campaign, and we're in deep in PQ territory. But the CAQ is pulling out all the stops to try and change that.

We stopped at Dominic Simard's business in Jonquire, our first time visiting a bowling alley on the campaign trail.

Simard is 42 years old. He has been bowling since he was 12.

Our conversation starts like this:

"I always compare bowling to real life. It's not easy. You have to practise,be prepared, and have good equipment. You have to work hard."

And politics?

"It's an extreme sport. Bowling can be an extreme sport, too."

But how?

"You never know how the alley in front of you will be. Very slippery. More or less slippery. You won't know it before you start playing. It's trial and error."

When you play bowling, you have a second chance...

"But you have to concentrate on how you're going to play more toward the left, or the right, or stay straight in front of you. You have to think fast and then go for it. Not everybody will understand your move. Like in politics."

Strategy. Physical effort. Simard shared one last parallel between politics and bowling

"Be aware of the strengths of the players around you. Most of the people will have an average score. Take that into consideration."

"Political leaders should never forget for whom they work."

We hope that clears the air a bit. If you have a burning issue you think we should address, send us a note at ballotbrief@cbc.ca.

And one more reminder to make sure you're registered to vote. If you're not on the list before election day, you'll be left high and dry.

la prochaine,

-Melinda Dalton, social media editor