Legal Weed in Canada and What it Means for You

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Marijuana is becoming legalized in Ontario on October 17th.

What will change on October 17th?

  • Marijuana will be legalized for recreational use!
  • You will be able to purchase marijuana online through the The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), physical stores will likely pop up sometime in 2019.
  • You will be able to use marijuana from the comfort of your home, including your balcony or yard. Marijuana can be used within condos or apartments, including your units balcony as long as there are no restrictions in your lease or building agreements.
  • You will be able to buy or possess up to 30 grams of dried recreational marijuana at one time.
  • Through the OCS you will be able to buy seeds and you can grow up to 4 plants per resident (not per person!).
  • UPDATE (9/27):  The Ontario Government has made a change to the marijuana laws: starting October 17th Ontario residents will be able to smoke marijuana anywhere you can currently smoke tobacco.  This means individuals will have the added option to smoke in areas other than private residencies. Source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/ontario-government-to-allow-pot-smoking-wherever-tobacco-smoking-allowed-1.4110679

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What will still be illegal on October 17th?

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  • You will have to be 19 years of age or older to purchase, use, possess or grow marijuana.
  • You will not be able to use marijuana in public places, at your workplace or in vehicles.
  • You can not operate a vehicle under the influence of marijuana.
  • Police will have oral fluid screening tests if they suspect you are impaired
  • There is a zero tolerance policy for anyone under 21, operating commercial vehicles or are a novel driver (license classes G1, G2, M1 or M2).

What is still unknown with the coming changes?

As time passes more will become clear with how legal recreational marijuana is sold and consumed within Ontario. There is no clear dates set yet for physical stores but they will likely open in 2019. Police will likely be changing from the oral fluid screenings to test sobriety once a federally approved device is available. Until then It is unclear what dosage is deemed safe to be found with any individual who does not fall in the zero tolerance policy. Driving under the influence is a danger to yourself and others (like with other substances) and is best avoided if possible.

Will anything change for medical marijuana users?

Medical marijuana follows different rules from recreational marijuana and will continue to do so once recreational marijuana is legalized on October 17th. Medical marijuana users should continue to purchase their marijuana directly from a federally licensed seller of cannabis for medical purposes.

What are some of the products being sold and what dose should I take?

The OCS has approved 26 licensed producers with the OCS being the only place to purchase recreational marijuana. On October 17th the OCS will be selling dried and fresh cannabis, cannabis oil and some cannabis accessories. Edibles will not be sold as they are still not legal to be sold by the OCS.

Common marijuana doses vary: typically smoked buds range from 1/30th of a gram to 1/16th of a gram, for hash or oil the dose is smaller, a normal dose for potent oils is typically less than 1/10th of a gram, for edibles a typical dose can be 5mg-100mg depending on body weight, tolerance and metabolism. Remember when consuming orally it can take over an hour for you to feel the effects!

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Written by some Trip! peer workers