What you need to now about the new laws regarding Cannabis use in Canada
What are the rules and regulations now that Cannabis is legal?
Oct 17, 2018 the recreational use of Marijuana became legal for adults 18 years of old or older, Alberta is the only province that the legal age is 18, all other require a person to be 19 or older.
This legalization will now allow a person to:
- possess up to 30 grams of legal dried cannabis
- share up to 30 grams with other adults
- buy fresh or dried cannabis for a licensed provincial retailer
- buy cannabis oil from a licensed provincial retailer
- grow up to 4 plants for personal use as long as they are licensed seeds or plants
- make your own food or drink at home as long as solvents are not used to make concentrated products
The Government estimates that edible products will be legal toward the end of 2019.
You may possess up to 30 grams of legal dried cannabis, so how many seeds can you have? or how much liquid?
To be sure you are legal here are some equivalents that are posted on the Canadian Justice website:
One gram of dried cannabis is equal to:
- 1 seed
- 15 grams edible product
- 5 grams fresh product
- 70 grams of liquid product
- .25 grams of concentrate (solid or liquid)
So 150 grams of fresh pot would be equal to 30 grams of dried product.
Provinces may have regulations as well so be sure to check the laws for each individual province.
In British Columbia the legal age is 19, smoking is prohibited in cars, where tobacco is prohibited and around children. The possession limit is 30 grams in public and 1000 grams at home.
BC, Nunuvat and Quebec are the only provinces that have a limit at home.
Other things to consider is where can you smoke? In Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island you can only smoke in your personal residence, so if you are renting a house from someone you need their permission.
Penalties for Offences
- Possessing over the limit – depending on the circumstances the penalties range from a ticket up to 5 years in jail
- Selling or distributing illegally – range from a ticket to up to 14 years in jail
- Transporting Pot accross the border – up to 14 years in jail
- Giving or selling to a person under 18 (19 in most provinces) – up to 14 years in jail
Impaired Driving and Marijuana
An impaired driver found to have more than 2 nanograms (ng) of THC in their blood, between 2 and 5 ng is a less serious offence, but if that driver has more than 5 ng it is considered a serious offence.
The penalties for having 5ng or more of THC per ml of blood within 2 hours of driving come with a mandatory minimum $1000.00 fine for a first offence. A second offence is a mandatory 30 days in jail and a 3rd offence comes with a penalty of a mandatory minimum 120 days in jail. The maximums for all three offences is 10 years in jail.
The penalties are the same for a alcohol impaired driver with over 80 mg per 100 ml of blood within 2 hours of driving and also the same if the driver is found to be impaired by a combination of both within 2 hours of driving.
What to know about traveling to the US or other countries.
Just because Cannabis is legal in Canada does not mean you can take it across the border or to any other country. The border rules are the same. It is illegal to take Cannabis ore any product containing it across the border. It does not matter if pot is legal or illegal in the country you are going to.
Going to the United States, even though cannabis is legal now in many states, it is still illegal federally so previous cannabis use count mean you will be denied entry to the States. Canadians who may be travelling for business related to the cannabis industry could also be denied entry.
Just a few months ago it made the news when a BC Cannabis investor was planning to attend a conference in Vegas when he ended up getting banned from entering the Untied States for life. Canadian Investor Banned for the US
This is a really interesting topic and a very informative one. As a matter of fact I had no idea Canada had done that. I am not a consumer myslef, I have in the past I guess when I was much younger but I alwasy thought that there are many more dangerous drugs that are legal out there like for example alchool. These things are good to know and I believe more country should do the same. I am not saying we should allow all drugs, certainly not but if controlled like the have in other countries like Holland for example I think it has improved the drug situation rather than makeing worst. Thank you for sharing
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Thanks for your comments Barbara. I agree that other countries could use Holland as a good example.
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To me personally, marijuana is a good medicnal product but legalising it is a very bad idea. Think of it now that it is educational not a legal plant people abuse it’s use what more of what will happen if it is legalised this means that people will just go mad in the streets. It should used only for medical purposes by governmentss.
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Wow! it’s really interesting to what the law really allows and what it’s not allowed. I think that a good legislation with margins of possibility for consumer is better than a too restrictive one that risk to boost illegality. Some space to the legal use and the possibility to start business in edible things and, step by step, in other business fields it’s going to be a good thing!
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Each province in Canada is a little different with restrictions. Step by step is right. Thanks for your comments
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I live in NYC and they are still passing the recreation use bill. I am sure by the end of this year or next year the bill will pass and we can use it freely. However, I can see that the NYPDs are cutting some slacks when they see people smoking. I am talking about right in the open, in Union Square. If it was 5 years ago and you do that, you will be facing many charges. I am sure NYC might enforce the same regulations as in Canada. The age might be 18 or 21 to have marijuana. We will see how will it turn out.
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I’m sure other countries will be watching to see what kind of regulations and enforcements are being used. For sure it’s going to be a learning curve for them all.
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