What You Should Know About Cannabis Legalization in BC (Part 3 of 3): Consumers and Education
This post is the third in our three-part series on cannabis legalization in BC. It will review rules affecting consumers of cannabis as well as where you can get an education that will allow you to work in the cannabis industry. For part one on Private Retailers, click here. For part two on For-Profit Production, click here.
Consumers:
Many of the laws for consumers around cannabis will resemble our current laws around tobacco and alcohol:
- You must be over 19 to purchase and use cannabis.
- You can possess up to 30 grams of legally produced cannabis, which can be purchased from licensed establishments.
- You can grow up to 4 plants per household but they must not be visible to anyone off the property.
- If you run a home day-care on your property, you cannot grow cannabis.
- Cannabis smoking is prohibited everywhere that tobacco smoking is prohibited; in addition, it cannot be smoked anywhere that children use regularly, such as parks.
(Cannabis, n.d.)
To purchase cannabis, consumers have to produce the same two pieces of ID they must have when purchasing alcohol (Cannabis retail store terms and conditions: A handbook for the sale of non-medical cannabis in British Columbia, 2018). For more information, please see the Government of BC Cannabis information page.
Higher Education:
Interested in getting involved in the cannabis industry but feel like you need to know more? Schools across Canada have already begun offering a variety of courses:
- Olds College will be running an Introduction to Cannabis Retail online course to prepare students for working in the cannabis retail industry, providing scientific and product knowledge, as well as knowledge around regulations. (Olds College cannabis course launched, 2018)
- Niagara College has started a Commercial Cannabis Production program, which prepares students to work in the production of cannabis on a commercial scale. (Brown, 2018)
- Ryerson University’s G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is offering a Business of Cannabis course, which will cover a variety of topics relevant to the cannabis industry to give entrepreneurial students a “competitive edge”. (The GrowthOp, 2018)
The Canadian cannabis industry is just beginning. Although legislation across the country and in different provinces comes into effect on October 17th, 2018, many consequences of the change are still unknown, and it is likely that this new and active industry will see a great deal of change over the next few years.
Are you planning to enter or already a part of this new industry? Let us know what you think of the laws and the impact they will have on your business down below, or tweet us @sba_bc. We look forward to hearing from you!
If you are interested in requesting further commentary from UBC experts about recreational cannabis legalization, please click here.
Photo credit: BC Liquor Distribution Branch. Attribution required, no derivatives permitted.
References:
Brown, A. (2018 September 5). Niagara College offers Canada's first cannabis production program. City News. Retrieved from https://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/09/05/niagara-college-offers-canadas-f…
Cannabis. (n.d.). Government of British Columbia. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/public-safety/cannabis
Cannabis retail store terms and conditions: A handbook for the sale of non-medical cannabis in British Columbia. (2018 August). Government of British Columbia. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/employment-business-and-economic-deve…
Courtenay, P. (2018, July 6). B.C. government paints a bleak picture of the legal cannabis retail landscape. The Georgia Straight. Retrieved from https://www.straight.com/cannabis/1099646/bc-government-paints-bleak-pi…
Courtenay, P. (2018, July 11). B.C. government announces 31 licensed cannabis producers set to supply the recreational market. The Georgia Straight. Retrieved from https://www.straight.com/cannabis/1101911/bc-government-announces-31-li…
Craft Cannabis Association of BC. (2018, May 18). BC craft cannabis sounds alarm over survival of sector. Retrieved from https://www.craftcannabis.ca/position-papers/
Daily Hive Staff. (2018, September 14). Take a virtual tour of this BC cannabis production facility. Daily Hive. Retrieved from http://dailyhive.com/grow/tantalus-labs-vitrual-tour-cannabis-productio…
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Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch. (n.d.). Indigenous Nations’ role in licensing non-medical cannabis retail stores. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/employment-business-and-economic-deve…
Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch. (n.d.). Local governments’ role in licensing non-medical cannabis retail stores. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/employment-business-and-economic-deve…
Olds College cannabis course launched. (2018 September 4). Red Deer Advocate. Retrieved from https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/olds-college-cannabis-course-launc…
Potenteau, D. (2018 July11). When B.C. government pot shops open, they’ll carry more than 150 kinds of weed. Global News. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/4326038/when-b-c-government-pot-shops-open-t…
Retailers. (2018). Liquor Distribution Branch. Retrieved from https://www.bcldbcannabisupdates.com/opportunities/retailers
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Shore, R. (2018 August 2). Growing cannabis at home in B.C. won't be illegal, but it won't be easy either. Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from https://vancouversun.com/cannabis/cannabis-news/growing-cannabis-at-hom…
Spriggs, A. (2018 July 27). BC missing big opportunity in ‘craft cannabis,’ say critics. The Tyhee. Retrieved from https://thetyee.ca/News/2018/07/27/BC-Missing-Cannabis-Opportunity/
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