Pot possession prosecutions will continue ahead of legalization

Solomon Israel
06/20/2018 7:00 PM

Cannabis possession will be legal in Canada in less than four months, but federal prosecutors will keep prosecuting the crime in the interim.

"The prohibition on cannabis contained in the (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act) continues to be valid law and, until such time as the Cannabis Act comes into force," says a directive issued Wednesday to federal prosecutors by Public Prosecution Service of Canada, one day after the government's marijuana legalization bill was passed by Parliament.

"PPSC will continue to prosecute offences contained within the (act)."

The new law won't take effect until Oct. 17. Under the new legal regime, adults will be allowed to possess as much as 30 grams of dried cannabis in public. There will be no federal limit on the amount of marijuana stored in a private home, although Quebec is instituting its own 150-g limit.