Alex Gore, 28, a glass blower rolled a huge joint as the gathering started. “I hit the bong before I left and got on the train this morning," he said. “I’ve been prepping for 16 years.”

In small towns like Smiths Falls, Ontario, home to Canopy Growth Corp., executives and employees will celebrate together, while several events are being planned in Toronto, including smoke-outs, "pop-up" venues by marijuana companies, parties and other gatherings that start in the morning and carry into the evening.

Quebec Primed

In Quebec, the government-controlled Societe Quebecoise du Cannabis plans to offer about 110 products at the dozen stores that are ready for Day 1. The number of locations could grow to as many as 150 within three years, the company estimates.

“We are very ready,” Jean-Francois Bergeron, a vice-president at the liquor control board that’s overseeing the new entity, told reporters Tuesday. “We have inventory, we have the stock on site, we have all the points of sale ready to kick in, employees are trained.”He said Quebec is prepared because it signed its supply agreements six months ago and has about 90 percent of the products listed.

Because cannabis remains federally illegal in the U.S., Canada’s investment bankers do most of the industry’s deals and its stock exchanges list most of the industry’s stocks. This has been a boon for the country as cannabis stocks have rocketed higher, drawing comparisons to cryptocurrency and the dot-com bubble. Since Canopy Growth announced a $3.8 billion investment from alcohol giant Constellation Brands Inc. in mid-August, investors have piled into the sector, sending the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF up by 70 percent.

Individual stocks have posted even more outsized gains, with investor darling Tilray gaining more than 800 percent since its July IPO. Tilray’s market value is almost $15 billion, bigger than Campbell Soup Co. and on revenue of just $9.7 million in its last quarter.

Still, cannabis shares were off to a shaky start in pre-market trading Wednesday. Tilray underperformed peers, while Canopy Growth Corp.’s U.S.-listed shares briefly turned positive before giving up the gains.

Whatever your view on pot stocks, the world seems fascinated by Canada’s legalization experiment.

“I think it’s a very important moment in the history of this movement,” Adam Bierman, CEO of U.S. cannabis retailer MedMen Enterprises Inc., said in an interview. “The whole nation is watching.”