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Saskatchewan Cannabis Laws: From Consumers To Businesses

Saskatchewan Cannabis Laws: From Consumers To Businesses

Legalization

Saskatchewan Cannabis Laws: From Consumers To Businesses

Cannabis Culture/Flickr

Saskatchewan Cannabis Laws: From Consumers To Businesses

Here is how Saskatchewan businesses and consumers will be able to use weed as soon as it becomes legal in Canada.

Legal weed is on the horizon for Canadians. In fact, lawmakers are currently working to finalize the last remaining details before recreational cannabis becomes legal in the country. Yet even when legalization is complete, individual provinces will still be able to control certain aspects of the local recreational market. Here are the key points of Saskatchewan cannabis laws, as outlined so far by provincial policymakers.

Saskatchewan Cannabis Laws for Consumers

The province of Saskatchewan outlined its upcoming weed laws in a guidebook called “Saskatchewan’s Cannabis Framework.” Here are some of the key laws for how consumers will be able to use weed as soon as it’s legal in Canada.

  • In Saskatchewan, the minimum age for consuming recreational weed will be 19. That’s different from the age set by the federal government, which is 18.
  •  Minors will not be allowed to enter retail stores. Similarly, they will not be allowed to purchase or consume recreational weed.
  • The province plans to let people buy recreational marijuana online and in brick and mortar stores. To buy weed in either location, you’ll first have to provide proof that you’re legally old enough.
  • For those who are old enough to buy weed, the limit will be 30 grams at a time.
  • Saskatchewan plans to follow a strict zero-tolerance approach to driving while under the influence of cannabis. If you’re pulled over and a cop suspects that you’re high, they will be allowed to request a roadside Standard Field Sobriety Test. Similarly, police officers can also request a Drug Recognition Evaluation. Finally, they can also ask drivers to do a saliva drug test.
  • If you’re caught driving while under the influence, you can face a variety of punishments. These include having your driver’s license suspended, having your car seized for 3-60 days, mandatory drug and alcohol education classes, and more.
  • Adults in the province will be allowed to grow up to four plants at home. This is in line with the standard set by the national government.
  • Regardless of age, nobody is allowed to consume weed in public.

Saskatchewan Cannabis Laws for Businesses

The province’s laws don’t only govern the way consumers can and cannot use marijuana. They will also govern the business side of things. Here are some of the key laws for businesses:

  • The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority will be in charge of licensing all marijuana businesses. The agency will enforce strict qualifying criteria including background checks and the use of rigorous inventory tracking protocols.
  • Marijuana businesses will be required to purchase all recreational weed and weed products from a federally licensed producer.
  • The province plans to keep tight control over the number of businesses working in the recreational market. For the first three years of legalization, the province will grant only a very small number of licenses. It will scale up after that. According to the province’s guidebook, this is intended to carry out a “cautious and controlled roll-out of the retail footprint.”
  • All recreational businesses must use tracking and reporting tools, as also required by the national government.
  • Saskatchewan will require that all employees working in the recreational industry complete mandatory training. This will ensure that all employees know local and national laws, especially those relating to age requirements.

Saskatchewan Cannabis Laws For the Age of Legalization

Legal weed has been a long time coming in Canada. In fact, lawmakers have been concretely working on legalization for at least the past several years.

Finally, things could be approaching completion. Last week, Canada’s Senate voted in favor of Bill C-45. Of course, this version of the legalization bill had dozens of new amendments. But at least it passed.

Now, it’s off to the House of Commons. House lawmakers will approve, reject, or further alter the bill. As soon as the bill is approved by both groups, legalization can begin to roll out.

Yet even then, it will take a couple more months before people will actually be able to go to a dispensary and buy recreational weed. That’s because provinces will likely need time to finalize and implement their own individual rules. But it appears that Saskatchewan already has a fairly concrete sense of what its rules will look like.

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