The celebratory mood that marked the legalization of recreational cannabis lost a bit of its high for some consumers who found themselves with hefty fines for allegedly violating the law around pot use.
Hours after people lined up outside Newfoundland cannabis stores to buy the first legal bud in Canada, police in St. John’s, N.L., say they ticketed a man accused of having more than 30 grams of weed in a public place without a licence.
READ MORE: Demand for legal cannabis draws long lineups
The Ontario Provincial Police took to Twitter early Wednesday to post a photo of a $215 ticket given to someone who allegedly had a baggy of marijuana in their car, telling people to, “Arrive alive, drive sober!!”
Public safety is our commitment!!
— OPP Central (@OPP_CR) October 17, 2018
It is NOT ok for a driver to have marijuana beside them while operating a motor vehicle. Arrive alive, drive sober!! #HvilOPP ^JG pic.twitter.com/vJdFsxHvsJ
Winnipeg police also posted a picture on Twitter of a $672 ticket handed out to someone accused of consuming cannabis in a motor vehicle.
Police say the ticket was issued Wednesday morning and they reminded people that while consuming cannabis is now legal — just like alcohol — consuming it in your car is not.
It wasn’t yet clear if police in other jurisdictions had issued tickets for alleged violations of the Cannabis Act, but a spokesman for the Halifax municipality said Wednesday that bylaw enforcement officers were handing out information pamphlets to people they saw smoking marijuana or tobacco outside designated areas.
The Canadian Press