Cannabis in New Brunswick

Cannabis in New Brunswick will, as in the entirety of Canada, become legal when the Cannabis Act becomes effective on October 17, 2018.

The Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey of 2012 noted that New Brunswick had the lowest proportion of people reporting past-year cannabis use of any Canadian province, at 8.5%.[1][2]

History

Cannabis café

In 2003, Saint John Cannabis Café opened in Saint John, New Brunswick to provide medical cannabis. Though the business was technically illegal, the police did not interfere, even when the cafe moved to a larger location across from a police station. Customers were required to attest that they suffered from one of 300 qualifying medical conditions, in order to purchase. The owner stated that 200 people per day made purchases at the store, with many more "just looking", and that a number of customers were from the cruise ships that dock at Saint John.[3]

Tobique First Nation raid

In October 2016, the medical cannabis dispensary on the Tobique First Nation reserve in New Brunswick was raided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The dispensary was illegal under national law, but was approved by the band council, causing a disjunct and raising issues of tribal sovereignty. The community reacted with anger to the raid, with 50 members forming a blockade to prevent RCMP officers from leaving. The manager of the dispensary stated to news media: "Our laws, our laws... Your laws, your laws."[4]

Legalisation

In 2017 the provincial government announced that crown-run NB Liquor would take charge of opening up to 20 cannabis stores in the province.[5]

Proposed new laws in the province include limiting adults to carrying 30 grams of cannabis (with no limit inside the home), and requiring that cannabis in the home be stored in a locked container or room. Smoking cannabis will be banned in public places.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Rick Csiernik (19 April 2016). Substance Use and Abuse, 2nd Edition: Everything Matters. Canadian Scholars' Press. pp. 41–. ISBN 978-1-55130-892-0.
  2. ↑ Anita Kalunta-Crumpton (3 March 2016). Pan-African Issues in Drugs and Drug Control: An International Perspective. Routledge. pp. 337–. ISBN 978-1-317-08434-1.
  3. ↑ Dr. David A. Fennell (11 January 2006). Tourism Ethics. Channel View Publications. pp. 464–. ISBN 978-1-84541-274-6.
  4. ↑ "'We're either a government or we aren't': Anger mounts on Tobique since dispensary raid". cbc.ca. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "NB Liquor to sell recreational cannabis in stand-alone pot stores". cbc.ca. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "Forget using pot in public when drug is legal, province says in strict new rules". cbc.ca. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.