Since Oak Bay Police issued a $230 ticket to a teen rolling a joint inside his vehicle Sunday night, many people realized they are still confused about the rules when it comes to transporting cannabis in their vehicles.
READ MORE: Oak Bay Police issue ticket to teen rolling a joint
According to the provincial government, people can carry non-medical cannabis in their vehicles as long as it’s in the original, unopened packaging from a federal producer, or is not readily accessible to the driver and passengers.
Joints can also be transported in a vehicle. However, unless they are pre-rolled joints in their original, unopened packaging, they also have to be inaccessible to the driver and passengers.
Cpl. Mike Halskov with B.C.’s traffic police told Black Press that the rules for carrying pot in a car are similar to the open container law for alcohol. Just like a bottle of beer, even if you’re not lighting up the joint you still aren’t allowed to have a pack of pot in your cupholder or in your pocket while in a car.
READ MORE: Driving with dope: Police talk rules on cannabis in the car
But what if you’ve bought your pot, smoked some, and then want to take the rest to a friend’s house?
“Let’s say you go to a restaurant and you order a bottle of wine …. you can do that, you just can’t have it accessible to anybody in the vehicle,” Halskov said.
The same rules apply to pot.
“It should be kept in the trunk or away from easy access of anybody in that vehicle,” he said.
Legal cannabis, he added, should come in a package similar to cigarettes where it’s clear if the seal has been broken.
The maximum possession amount in public is 30 grams of non-medical cannabis per adult.
– With files from Katya Slepian
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