IS POT LEGAL IN CANADA?
Life is like a box of chocolate, melts in your mouth not in your hands
No, but pans are.
Definitely not. A young Canadian who has AIDS and who smoked pot to alleviate the symptoms was fined several times and had his marijuana stock confiscated before the government exceptionally authorized him to legally possess and smoke the substance after he called upon the media to plead his cause.
Far from legalized.
IS POT LEGAL IN CANADA?
Probably a more reasonable question is to ask if it is legal, anywhere.
And operate on the assumption, that it is not.
However, I did briefly peruse some web offerings, the most immediate hits seeming to verify illegality.
But I never did get an answer to the term I actually asked for, which was; canadian marijuana laws. The actual law, as presented in those endlessly boring legal terms that they usually present to the department of redundancy department, or those who make a living from the interpretation thereof.
Hah! I’ve apparently already read too much!
(see the disclaimer below)
But I didn’t look too long.
Do the web search for yourself, and see if you can find what you want to know.
You’re sure to find some interesting reading along the way.
(disclaimer: this is not a warranty nor representation to present a warranty of any previous representations.)
{We are currently involved in litigation that requires us to state also, but in a manner that does not reflect upon the ongoing proceeding inquiries,that ‘Happy Fun Ball’ is still fully legal in eleven states.
Check your packaging for full details.}
Pot is not legal in Canada. Unfortunately. However, at last report, I heard that the RCMP is trying to establish guidelines whereby simple possession for personal use will be “tolerated”, if not actually legal. Also, I heard on the news about a compassion club in Vancouver which is actually protected by city cops.
Pot is not legal in Canada. There is a “medicinal marijuana” movement in Canada that seems fairly popular, and marijuana clubs do operate at least semi-openly in British Columbia (aka, in the words of Alan Fotheringham, British California.) However, as I understand it a very popular one in Vancouver is about to be closed.
It appears likely, the last time I checked, that hemp, a low THC variant of marijuana, will be legalised in Canada for agriculture. It is now possible to apply for a license to grow the stuff. Since it is very difficult to distinguish the two plants on sight, I suspect a fair amount to pot will be grown in the process.
In my experience, neither the RCMP nor most local police want to be bothered busting cancer and AIDS patients toking up. When I lived in Montreal, pot was easy to obtain and consume and neither the Montreal cops nor the Surete seemed to much give a damn. I didn’t actually know anyone who had been arrested in Quebec for possession of pot and my usual dealer had never spent more than 24 hours in jail for it. (In fact, I knew a cop with the Surete who smoked the stuff pretty openly - he offered me a toke once.)
In Quebec, I was once told a story by the same Surete cop that a man was caught in the Eastern Townships (a rural part of southern Quebec) with pot growing in his yard. He fought the charge in court, claiming that the marijuana was a natural plant growing in that part of Quebec and therefore he was not legally responsible for its presence. Since there was no evidence that he had actually planted the weed (e.g. it wasn’t in neat rows) he got away with it. I can’t confirm this story though.
Canadians are generally pretty laid back about marijuana, and if you keep your nose clean otherwise, you’re not very likely to get into trouble.
If you are a foreigner in Canada though, I advise against trying. As in most countries, as a foreigner you have no judicial rights in Canada worthy of the name and getting deported for marijuana in Canada will appear on your US criminal record.
"I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: “O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.” And God granted it.
- Voltaire