A man smokes cannabis in Kamloops, B.C. on October 17, 2018. New statistics show the number of cannabis confiscations at the Canadian border increased more than 60 per cent in the first six weeks after pot legalization.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
March 03, 2019 - 6:30 PM
OTTAWA - New statistics show the number of cannabis confiscations at the Canadian border increased more than 60 per cent year-over-year in the first six weeks after pot legalization.
The Canada Border Services Agency is linking the rise to the fact it began asking people last fall whether they were bringing cannabis into the country.
The border agency says there were 329 instances of cannabis either being seized by — or forfeited to — Canadian border officers from Oct. 17 to Nov. 30 of last year.
That compares to 204 such confiscations in the period of Oct. 17 to Nov. 30, 2017.
As of last Oct. 17, adults in Canada can possess and share up to 30 grams of legal cannabis.
However, taking pot across Canada's international borders remains illegal and can result in serious criminal penalties.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019