The legalization of pot, which differs from one ocean to the other

News 12 February, 2018

Photo courtesy

Boris Proulx

Monday, 12 February, 2018 01:00

UPDATE
Monday, 12 February, 2018 01:00

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OTTAWA | Canadians have a good knowledge of the policies of the cannabis of each province as their laws on the joints law will be very different from one to the other.

Travellers tempted by a trip by car in Western canada could well be hard to find if they want to ensure that their cannabis use is completely legal. The one who gets caught smoking a joint in front of a child in Alberta will learn to his cost.

A caveat, which is also necessary for the Québécois, which crosses the Ottawa river, with a seal at the spout, since the consumption in public will be prohibited in neighboring ontario.

“There are small differences for a number of laws and regulations, and sometimes citizens are pinched do not know the particulars of a certain province “, said Mario Harel, president of the canadian Association of chiefs of police and the head of the police of Gatineau.

Preparation uneven

More details are known about the differences in the ways in which provinces allow this soft drug, what they absolutely must do by the summer, as dictated by the schedule of the Trudeau government in Ottawa.

While the Senate is preparing, precisely, to study the draft federal law, the institution has developed an online platform that compares various visions of the provinces on the legalization as well as their level of preparation in the adventure.

Even if the laws will be different from one place to the other, the emerging industry of cannabis legal does not see necessarily as a bad thing, this variety in the country.

“You look at a lot of the foreign jurisdictions to be compared, such as Portugal, Colorado, etc., But with what is coming, we will be able to compare our laws to us,” enthuses Adam Greenblatt, a spokesman for the Quebec producer of cannabis Canopy Growth.

In his view, overly restrictive laws on cannabis could lead to prosecution, such as the prohibition of the culture of the product to the house, passed by Quebec.

Cooperation

“The ideal would be that there is a better cooperation, a better harmonisation of the laws of a province to the other. But it is healthy that the government wanted to respect the differences of the country “, adds Benoît Pelletier, the constitutionalist and professor at the University of Ottawa.

A political scientist at the University of Quebec in Montreal, André Lamoureux believes that each province may as well go at his own pace.

“In Quebec, it has been among the most conservative, and it is very good,” he adds.

By way of example, the Quebec prohibit the cultivation of cannabis at home, even if Ottawa wanted to help in the fight against organized crime.

Each province has its rules

British Columbia

► Not filed

Legal age : 19 years

Where to buy

In both shops private of cannabis in the boutiques managed by the government

Limit for driving

Unknown

Feature

The hundred or so dispensaries illegal can get a license.

Alberta

► Adopted

Legal age : 18 years

Where to buy

In shops, in private of cannabis, under the supervision of the liquor commission of the province

Limit for driving

2 ng/ml THC, with larger penalties from 5 ng/ml THC. 0 tolerance for young drivers.

Feature

Smoke or vape their cannabis will be prohibited where there are children.

Saskatchewan

► Not filed

Legal age : Unknown

Where to buy

In shops, in private of cannabis, under the supervision of the authority of the alcohol and gaming corporation of the province

Limit for driving

Zero tolerance

Manitoba

► The study or in part adopted

Legal age : 19 years old (18 for alcohol)

Where to buy

In shops, in private of cannabis, under the supervision of the authority of alcohol and gaming in the province. The cities, however, may prohibit the sale.

Limit for driving

Unknown

Ontario

► Adopted

Legal age : 19 years

Where to buy

In new shops managed by the government

Limit for driving

Sobriety Test on the side of the road, 0 tolerance for young drivers

Feature

Consumption prohibited in public

Quebec