Misuse of cannabis can still lead to criminal charges

A number of criminal offenses are still intact despite today’s legalization date for marijuana according to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

1) A person 18 or older distributing cannabis to a minor – if someone who is 18 years of age or older passes a cannabis joint to a younger friend, they can face up to 14 years in prison.

2) Possessing a budding or flowering plant in public – anyone who is moving and wants to take their plants with them can do so but cannot have any buds or flowers on them. Residents can move up to four plants in a public place.

3) Selling Cannabis without a license

4) Possessing any illicit cannabis or growing a plant from an illicit cannabis seed – illicit cannabis is when it was sold, produced or distributed from a person that was banned from doing so. If someone grows more than four recreational plants at home, that’s considered illicit cannabis along with several other examples.

5) Driving while high – it is still considered illegal either by alcohol or drugs, however, new provisions make it a crime to have certain levels of THC in your blood within two hours of having operated a motor vehicle.

6) An adult possessing more than 30 seeds or more than two pans of brownies in a public place – a seed is deemed to be equivalent to a gram and to make sure trays of pot brownies don’t weigh more than 450 grams.

7) Importing or exporting cannabis without legal consent – simply put, it is illegal to take cannabis across the border in either direction without a specific license. It is also against the law to have recreational marijuana for the purpose of exporting it.

8) Cultivating or harvesting cannabis outside your home – it’s a crime to grow cannabis at a place outside your home unless you’re an authorized producer or a medical marijuana user.

9) Distributing cannabis to an organization – while it is legal to give away weed for free, you cannot give it to someone such as a courier to assist with a delivery.

10) No more than four plants – growing more than four plants is considered against the law and you need to make sure that includes your shed, yard, and garage.