 Hi guys, welcome back to my YouTube channel. So those of you who are here for the first time, go read about me in the description box. I'm a lawyer in Ontario, Canada and everything that I say is just general information and nothing is to be taken as legal advice. For legal advice, you have to seek professional services. For that, also the link is in the description box. Today's topic of discussion is very interesting and it is something which is like the elephant in the room and nobody talks about it much but it is a very valid law here in Canada. It is for people out there who are going to listen to me today for recreational purposes who are coming to Canada, who are tourists or who are just visiting Canada and would be dealing with Marianne or any kind of cannabis stuff. So for today, I'm going to tell you about all the regulations related to that, how much you can carry, what is the possession, what is the use and what all you can do legally and what if you do something illegal. It is also important to remember that what happens in Canada stays in Canada and you are not supposed to take this marijuana out of international borders. It is strictly prohibited. Even if you are taking it to US or some other place, you just cannot do it, no matter for medicinal value or anything, it is illegal and hence you should always be very cautious about this. To start with, I'm going to discuss a brief background of marijuana and cannabis in Canada so that you have an idea why it is legalized and what are the reasons that it was banned for 80 years. It was banned in 1923 and I'm going to discuss a brief background about it. Canada first criminalized the possession used in trade of marijuana in the Neurotix Drug Act of 1923 as this was done overnight. It was added almost incidentally to the list of prohibited drugs. 80 good years, the Canadian war on drugs remained. Now what happened was because of the youngsters and all of that when you stop somebody from doing something which was legal before and became illegal suddenly so it created an increase in criminal cases in Canada. People who were possessed about it, nobody was aware of it and as you know, clearance of law is no excuse. So the criminal justice system was overburdened with such small claims of possession under the control substance of drugs act. So in order to curb all of this and to recognize the principle of medicinal value in which a person can be treated through drug therapy and to an extent marijuana has medicinal values so in order to keep all of that in limit and in moderation and to create awareness among people that you have to take it in limit and there is certain extent to it it was legalized finally in 2018. However, there is a very landmark judgment of R versus Parker in which first in 2000 in which first it was recognized that what medicinal values the judges were aware of the medicinal values of marijuana and it is very interesting for all the lawyers listening to me to read about it by a defense of necessity was taken in this case and how marijuana was related to section 7 of the Charter Right. Hence thereafter in 2018 Canada emerged as the first federal G7 and G20 nation and the second country ever to legalize the cultivation and the consumption of cannabis and its by-product. So now what is the regulation? How much you can bring? How much you can carry? How much you can use? If you're traveling from Montreal to BC how much you can carry with yourself? All these points I'm going to discuss in this today's law and if you like it then do hit the like button if you have any other comments, questions or concerns you can put in the comment section. The basic overview is that according to the law the adults in Canada are permitted to purchase, use, possess and grow recreational cannabis in Canada. However, the legal age and cultivation and the amount of cultivation varies from province to province so for example the legal age for marijuana, the consumption and growth or buying and selling is 19 except in Alberta and Quebec it is 18 years of age. So you have to be sure of the local regulations that you are going to it might have a long term criminal record, criminal charges against you and that is quite dangerous. The amount of marijuana that you can carry with yourself is about 30 grams in all states but in home it varies. So in home you can have more of the substance like for example in BC you can have 1000 grams but in Manitoba there is no limit of how much possession you can have at home. So this also varies state to state. There is the regulation for the states that where can you consume marijuana? You just can't consume everywhere because you know it is harmful for the public and public safety comes first. So for example in Ontario and in BC and in other provinces you can only consume in private residences but however in Nova Scotia you can consume it in even places like where you are allowed tobacco. So only public places which allow tobacco you can use it in Nova Scotia. So you have to be careful about the places also where you are going to consume it. Now many people just want to grow it at home because of the benefits and all of that so they are allowed to do that except in Manitoba and Quebec. You can grow four plants of cannabis which are not flowering and which are budding. So there is the definition of what a plant is also given in the act itself and so you can grow four plants. An organization cannot grow plants. An organization can be fined up to 100,000 Canadian dollars which is too much along with criminal penalties. The cannabis law has very specifically spoken about the regulations relating to packaging and all of that so that the public safety comes first. You can also buy cannabis in Canada in form of dry weight which can be in form of edibles. So there are limits of equivalent value in the act itself and the law itself of how much you can carry and how much you can use. Further it is very important to understand that you can only buy cannabis from a legal government store in Canada. You cannot buy it from a friend and all of that because that can lead to criminal charges. You cannot even sell it to a minor that is 14 years of imprisonment. So all of this you have to be sure because you don't know and this is again I say that this is province specific so you have to check the province and the rules that you are going to and you have to be aware about it. Legal implications and the cases like if a 19 year old is carrying marijuana from British Columbia to Quebec and sharing it with an 18 year old he can be arrested and charged for 14 years. So this is what it can lead to. If minors are taking in and if you are selling it to minors or if minors are buying it and whatever is happening with minors the criminal offenses are also there under the youth criminal justice act. It is very interesting that even the accessibility of the driver and how you are taking it in car and how you are travelling with it and how easily accessible it is to the driver and other passengers in the car is also very important. So for example in none of it you can basically carry it but it should be out of the in car. You can carry it in car but it should be out of the reach of the driver and the other passenger. Same goes in Prince Edward Island. It can be carried in car but it should be out of the accessibility for the driver and the passenger. In Manitoba the weed has to be carried in a trunk. So even if you are going from Prince Edward Island to Manitoba then you have to obey the rules of both the provinces and before entering Manitoba I guess you have to shift it into the trunk of your car. It is also very important to know that had this COVID thing not happened then the cannabis tourism in Canada would have skyrocketed and it was expected to do that specifically from the US because only California is the only state that allows in the US right now. So you have to be very sure about the fact that even when you are entering Canada let's just say the safest bet is that a 19 year old can consume 13 rounds in a private residence almost anywhere in Canada. So you have to be sure that where you are consuming it, how you are consuming it and all the factors that I have discussed with you. If you are a visitor in Canada you can buy it from anywhere in Canada within Canada and you just have to obey with that province law, the state law, the federal law and all the law related to marijuana when it comes to possession and cultivation. It's also very important to know that if you are travelling from one Canadian province to another Canadian province then you can carry marijuana with yourself as long as you obey the law. So obeying the law of both the provinces is very important. If it's different then the destination province is your point of thing. You have to be sure that you carry it but you can carry it on airports and just you have to be careful about the limit of the possession. I'm also going to discuss some of the criminal offenses side of it and what you can keep in mind, what you can expect if you cross this, what is that you are looking at. So possession over the limit, the maximum prison is 5 years. If there is illegal sale of distributors then the maximum is 14 years in prison producing an amount of marijuana beyond the legal limits even if it is with the combustible solvent, the maximum terms are 14 years because in the act the solvent, what is organic solvent, what is combustible solvent, how you can grow it, it is all given in much detail and you should obviously seek professional help before you do that. Taking marijuana across the Canadian border, a prison term can be for 14 years using a youth to commit a marijuana related offense or giving or selling it to a minor is again 14 years of sense. Final note, I would like to get you one line from the R versus Parker judgement in which the judges were very much aware about the effects, the medicinal value of this plant and specifically said and specifically quoted and I unquote the same that it has been known for centuries that in addition to its intoxicating or psychotic effect, marijuana has medicinal value. Even up to date, marijuana's medicinal benefits and dosages have never been scientifically established. So all four judges in Parker presumed to know more about medicine than Health Canada. So it was that interesting the case and hence I really recommend for people who are going to give NC exams and criminal on all of that can go and read about this judgment who are interested in this case. Now I have seen cases which are pertaining to this legislation and hence I wanted to create a blog about the same spreading some information like I always do. One more thing is that if you're planning to travel to Canada after this Covid thing gets over then you be sure that you are in compliance to all the laws of the province and of the Canadian government relating to marijuana. If you like this video, please hit the like button. Do subscribe to my channel for more law-related information. If you want to get in touch with me, the link is in the description box. Thank you, bye-bye and see you next time.