The Liberal government has taken a major step toward fulfilling one of its biggest and most controversial campaign promises: legalizing recreational marijuana.

The proposed legislation, officially known as , would allow adults over 18 to buy and grow small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

The legal framework also includes safeguards to help keep the drug out of the hands of young people, such as making selling pot to a minor a serious criminal offence.

The government plans to have a nation-wide system for pot regulation in place by June 2018.

Provinces and territories will be responsible for setting their own rules on how the drug is licensed, distributed and sold in retail stores, as well as adjusting provincial traffic laws to accommodate the change.

The long-awaited announcement was met with mixed reaction. Some hailed the bill as an end of pot prohibition while others criticized restrictions within the bill.

鈥淣o matter where we start, I believe that we will evolve into a system whereby cannabis is treated very much the same as alcohol,鈥� Cam Battley, Executive Vice President of Aurora Cannabis told CTV鈥檚 Power Play on Thursday, adding that the cost of store-bought pot will be a key issue.

鈥淔or the last 40 years or so, the cost of cannabis has been pretty consistent across Canada at about $10 per gram, and a little bit less if it was purchased by the ounce. So we have to assume that there鈥檚 going to be a maximum price for legal consumer cannabis of around $10 per gram, and then taxes will have to be applied under that.鈥�

Conservative deputy justice critic Michael Cooper called the timeline to fully legalize marijuana 鈥渞ushed and arbitrary鈥� and suggested that there are more questions left today than answers.

鈥淭he Liberals have not explained how legalization is going to make it safe for our kids, safe for motorists, make it safe at workplaces. They shed no light in terms of a cost,鈥� Cooper said.

The NDP openly supports the decriminalization of marijuana, but NDP MP Rachel Blaney criticized the government for how its plan will unfold on a regional basis.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e totally downloading this onto the provinces,鈥� she said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and top members of his cabinet tweeted details of the announcement Thursday.

Justice Canada sent out a friendly reminder that the bill doesn鈥檛 mean that pot is legal just yet.

Many lauded the announcement, saying that it鈥檚 about time for legalized pot in Canada.

Others, including marijuana activist Jodie Emery, weren鈥檛 quite sold on the bill.

There were plenty of questions about precisely how the new framework for legalization will be rolled out, and how the new laws will be enforced.

Some people asked whether the government plans to propose limitations on where people can smoke marijuana in public.

A few Americans weighed in on the Canadian political news, too.