We want you guys consuming PRIMO cannabis with peace of mind and confidence that you’re not breaking any weed laws. It’s incredibly confusing with everything that’s going on in the states, and there seems to be little agreeance between them all. But what does it really mean to be legal? We’ll make it real simple for you in this series, so you can pass it on to the homies without having to sift through all the legislative bullshit. It’s easy, we’re calling it Weed Law For Dummies to inform you about the necessities at home and abroad. This is episode 6: Canada.
CANADA WEED LAWS DOS & DONT’S
As you probably know before reading this, Canada legalized marijuana for recreational use after Bill C-45 passed in the summer of 2018. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the date for legalization as October 17th, 2018, which made Canada the second country to legalize pot on a federal level behind Uruguay in 2013. The age of use varies by province, but most have it set at 19, with Alberta and Quebec electing a year younger. On average though, this is a lower age than every legal state in the United States, as they all match the age for marijuana use to alcohol, which is 21.
If you’re of age, you may possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis, with home storage limits ranging from 150 grams in some provinces to no limits in others. You can grow up to four plants at home unless you live in Quebec or Manitoba who doesn’t allow home grow. Though Canada is of one mind that cannabis should be legalized, the laws still fluctuate depending on where you are and, like most other legal areas in North America, you can’t leave the state or province with weed, even if legally obtained.
HISTORICAL POINTS
Canada beat the United States, it’s North American companion to the south, by outlawing cannabis on a federal level in 1923. It wasn’t really on the radar for Canadian police though. They didn’t make the first official seizure of cannabis plants until 1937, the same year the United States outlawed hemp with the Marihuana Tax Act. At the time, a culture of cannabis use was only largely present in Central and South America, so there wasn’t widespread use of the plant to warrant many seizures. Thirty years later, amid the psychedelic revolution, that one arrest per year was over 2000. In the next four years, that number would jump to 12,000 arrests per year.
Things began to change when a medical program was established in 2001. Originally it was highly controlled by Health Canada, the government’s division of public health, but allowed considerable home grow. That changed in 2013 when the access rules moved toward a model focused on licensed commercial growers and evolved into what we have today.
There are definitely pros and cons post-legalization for consumers looking to cop AAAA weed. On one hand, the stigma is reduced on a global scale and more people than ever are accepting marijuana use. On the other hand, the legislation put in place will not serve small businesses looking to grow or sell cannabis. So the reputation BC bud has established over the last 30 years is taking a major hit. Namely, the fact that a majority of LP’s in Canada have flipped quality for high margins – a risk the black market could never have taken.
