Legal Status of Cannabis (Policy and Regulations)

​​​​​​​​​​Laws about cannabis

The ​ Cannabis Act (in effect October 17, 2018) r​egulates the production, possession, distribution and sale of cannabis in Canada. The objectives of the Act are to prevent youth access to cannabis, protect public health and safety, and reduce criminal activity and the burden on the criminal justice system.​​

Drug-impaired driving will remain illegal under the Criminal Code of Canada. Crossing Canada’s international borders with any quantity of cannabis will remain illegal.

Provincial and Territorial Cannabis Laws

Each province and territory is responsible for developing its own regulations for the sales and distribution of cannabis, and can add additional restrictions to the federal legislation, such as increasing the age of access. In addition, individual municipalities can also pass bylaws to regulate the use of cannabis locally.

Learn more about provincial and territorial legislation with our interactive map tool.​​​

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Screen 2 features the full regulatory details

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​The first page​ displays cannabis regulations by province and territory while the second page​ features the full regulatory details. This tool will be updated regularly.​​​

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For publications that helped inform these regulations, refer to Clearing the Smoke on Cannabis: Cannabis Use and DrivingCannabis and driving: Questions and answers for policymaking,Cannabis Regulatory Approaches and Cannabis Regulation: Lessons Learned in Colorado and Washington State. CCSA has also presented briefs and testimony on Bill C-45 and C-46 to theSenate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs and the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology.​​​

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