The provincial government has finally come out with its plan to handle marijuana legalization in Saskatchewan, and it aims to tie the laws and regulations around alcohol closely to the laws that will govern marijuana.
Adults 19 and older will be allowed to possess marijuana. Minors are not and can receive tickets and be criminally charged.
Additionally, criminal charges for all ages of users are tied to the amount of marijuana. The Saskatchewan government wants to draw a line between trafficking and personal possession, making one illegal and the other legal.
People will not be allowed to smoke marijuana in public places.
The province has stated that if legalized marijuana is going to happen, it’s going to happen in a way that protects youths and keeps it out of the hands of children.
For those who are under 18 and caught with less than five grams, they will receive a ticket and have their marijuana taken away. Youths who are caught with over five grams will be criminally charged.
Anyone caught driving while high will face very serious charges and a zero tolerance policy will be implemented. New drivers caught driving while high will have steeper penalties.
There will be various public education programs that the province will roll out and implement; these programs are designed to protect the public and educate youth about the dangers of using marijuana and the long-term effects of marijuana use at an early age.
Marijuana comes in many different forums. For example, hash is condensed tetrahydrocannabinol (TCH), and 5.5 grams of marijuana is significantly less powerful compared with two grams of hash, but the weight of the physical product is how charges will be laid.
“At this point I am not sure about how the legislation will deal with that matter, I think obviously there are various derivatives of cannabis and so forth and how the federal government knocks that down between now and August certainly will allow clearer direction on that issue,” said Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur.
“The idea is they are looking at not so much the concentration as much as the quantity. When you start getting into higher quantities that can quickly become an issue of trafficking. With tickets that can be issued to a youth for being in procession of under five grams, that again is a question of is it for personal possession or for trafficking?”
Marijuana paraphernalia such as rolling paper, bongs and bud busters, to name a few, don’t currently have any specific age restrictions in the Criminal Code. Despite this the Estevan Police Service has ways of dealing with that issue.
“I think it is going to come down to responsibility on behalf of the store, keeping in mind these are licensed stores. There is that legal overtone now that wasn’t there before,” said Ladouceur.
“If there is a concern about irresponsibly on the part of the store in terms of selling certain things to minors, the city, who granted them a licence to sell and operate within Estevan, could enact some measures through bylaw creation and enforcement or more consultation with the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.”
There are only four plants allowed per household or dwelling and police cannot enter a house without probable cause, as such the enforcement of the four-plant rule may be difficult.
“In terms of plants per household, it comes down to how many plants do people have and for what purpose,” said Ladouceur.
“Keeping track of how many plants are in each household or dwelling won’t be any different than it is now. We do receive a lot of information from the community and if someone is running a grow-op in their home we would go through the correct process and execute a warrant,” he added.
Ladouceur noted that it is very important for people to be aware that just because marijuana has been legalized, that doesn’t mean that it is legal to traffic or produce for the purposes of running a non-approved government grow-op.
Apartment building owners that wish to not have any plants in their building are going to have to figure out that issue for themselves and Ladouceur believes that fixing that issue can done by writing certain conditions into a lease.
“The police will not be intervening in anything that is legal. If a landlord does not want someone growing plants in their apartment that is something that would be set out in a lease agreement and is an issue that can be dealt with through the tenant board. People can go through the proper process of eviction,” said Ladouceur,
Marijuana plants are tropical in origin and only grow well with a near constant exposure to heat. As such four plants in a dwelling would require a significant electrical set-up, and like all plants, there is also a water requirement.
Fire Chief Dale Feser is aware of the requirements that marijuana has and how it can create a dangerous situation.
“Typically what is going to happen is we are going to wait on some of the provincial initiatives to be handed down like literature, either provincially or federally, in regards to the building code, fire code or the Office of Fire Management and Safety to assist us with this process,” said Feser.
“The fire department has some jurisdiction but unfortunately in private family or single dwellings we have very little jurisdiction unless it constitutes a fire hazard, which growing your own marijuana plants can create,” he added.
Mayor Roy Ludwig noted that whether people like it or not the legalization of marijuana is coming and he wants to see any marijuana dispensary built or ran outside of a specific radius from a school or day care.
