Province has planned lengthy list of marijuana fines

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This article was published 13/09/2018 (2606 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Novice drivers in Manitoba who fail a roadside saliva screening test that detects marijuana’s main psychoactive component will face a $113 fine.

For experienced drivers who supervise such novices under the Graduated Driver Licensing program, failing that drug-screening test could lead to a $672 fine, according to information released Thursday by the provincial government.

“What we’ve done on cannabis, for a lot of cases, is mirrored what we did for alcohol,” Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said at the Manitoba legislature.

“So a lot of the preset fines will mirror existing fines under the alcohol side of it.”

Details of Manitoba’s new cannabis-related fines — to be enforced in the wake of its legalization Oct. 17 — were first reported Monday by The Canadian Press.

They include a $2,542 fine for growing cannabis at home, even though the federal cannabis legalization law will allow Canadians to grow up to four plants. (The fine won’t apply to Manitobans with a federal authorization to grow their own medical cannabis.)

However, Cullen suggested the provincial government isn’t planning any kind of active campaign to seek out forbidden cannabis gardens.

“We’ll leave that up to the authorities to do the policing on that,” he said.

The large fine for home cannabis cultivation is in line with recommendations from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Cullen said, “and also to keep this product out of the black market, as much as possible.”

Manitoba NDP justice critic Nahanni Fontaine said Thursday it’s “incredibly problematic for the Pallister government to be issuing such hefty fines on something that is considered legal across the country.”

“I really do think it is really an illustration of (Premier) Brian Pallister’s ideological approach to the use of cannabis,” said Fontaine, who cited the Tory government’s decision to restrict cannabis use to private property.

“It really is putting at a disadvantage those that are economically more marginalized. Where are people supposed to legally be able to use cannabis?”

The government of Manitoba is still working to determine the fine for smoking or vaping cannabis in public, according to a provincial spokesperson.

Another fine on the list: supplying marijuana to someone under the age of 19 in Manitoba could result in a $2,452 fine.

“Our government is taking the approach that we want to make sure that no one under the age of 19 gets involved in this particular product,” Cullen said.

Getting caught smoking or vaping cannabis in provincial parks could lead to a $672 fine. Exceptions may be made for certain businesses within provincial parks, such as tourist lodges and resorts, according to a provincial spokesperson.

Federally-registered medical cannabis users will be allowed to use cannabis “in outdoor areas” of provincial parks, according to regulations, but not at government-operated campsites, beaches, or playgrounds within a park.

Using marijuana in a vehicle or an off-road vehicle, or transporting “improperly stored” cannabis in a vehicle, would also result in a $672 fine.

Under Manitoba’s updated Highway Traffic Act, cannabis must be stored in the trunk of a vehicle or another area “that is not readily accessible to any person in the motor vehicle,” such as behind the last seat of a station wagon or hatchback.

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sol_israel