Canada’s federal government legalized recreational marijuana, or cannabis, on October 17, 2018. The legalization of marijuana fulfils a campaign promise made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leading up to the 2015 federal election. Canada is the second country in the world, and the first G7 nation, to legalize recreational cannabis. Under this new law, adults are permitted to buy, use, possess, and grow recreational marijuana (grown from licensed seed or seedlings by licensed producers). Medical cannabis, legalized in 2001, will continue to be subject to different rules than recreational cannabis.
Legalized recreational cannabis is intended to improve protection and safety for consumers by subjecting the growth and sale of cannabis to licensed retailers and producers that must abide by government regulatory oversight and guidelines. These rules and guidelines ensure that adults are accessing quality-controlled cannabis through a regulated supply chain. The use of cannabis is relatively high in Canada compared to other countries: an estimated 15% of Canadian adults consume cannabis, compared to 16% of adults in the USA, 9% in the United Kingdom, 6% in Germany, 14% in France, and 10% in Australia.
The federal government legally permits adults to:
- Possess up to 30 grams of legal cannabis from a provincially licensed retailer
- Buy dried or fresh cannabis and cannabis oil from a provincially licensed retailer
- Grow, from licensed seed or seedlings, up to 4 cannabis plants per residence for personal use
- Make cannabis products, such as food and drinks, at home.
In addition, each province and territory establishes its own rules for cannabis, specifically:
- The legal minimum age for purchase and consumption (e.g., the minimum age is 18 in Quebec and Alberta, and 19 elsewhere).
- Where adults may purchase cannabis (e.g., in Ontario, purchases can only be made online until April 2019).
- Where adults may use cannabis (e.g., in British Columbia and Ontario, cannabis may be used wherever tobacco cigarettes are permitted).
- How much adults may legally possess (e.g., 30 grams on person in all provinces; in Nova Scotia there is no limit to how much cannabis one may - keep at home; in Quebec, one may not keep more than 150 grams at home).
- Municipalities may also pass bylaws to regulate the use of cannabis locally.
The Canadian government also made changes to impaired driving laws. On August 27, Ottawa approved the Draeger DrugTest 5000 device, allowing officers to test a driver’s saliva for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at the road side. Drivers with between two and five nanograms of THC in their blood could face a fine of up to $1000 (CAD) with increased fines for drivers with more than five nanograms, or those under the influence of both alcohol and cannabis.