TORONTO – The Canadian Ministry of Transportation has allowed passengers to take 30 grams of cannabis on flights within the North American country.
Travellers flying within Canada will be allowed to pack 30 grams of cannabis, either in their hand luggage or in their checked bag after October 17, according to transportation minister Marc Garneau.
However, the passengers traveling on international flights to the United States cannot travel with cannabis as it is still prohibited and could be considered drug trafficking.
“We have been working with Transport Canada since the government passed cannabis legislation to ensure that our protocols are consistent with government policy,” said the spokeswoman for the Canadian Air Safety Authority (CATSA), Christine Langlois.
The state authorities have also warned travelers to refrain from smoking their cannabis while flying, as it remains a high-security risk.
Jett Hansell, the regional manager at Weeds, a chain of cannabis dispensaries, said she expected it to be a lot more strict, “so 30 grams is awesome”.
She said a lot of people roll joints using roughly half a gram of cannabis, so it would take about 60 joints to hit the limit.
As of October 17, the sale of recreational marijuana will be legal in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in June, after 52-29 voted in favor of the motion passed in the Senate.
Trudeau’s political group had legalized the recreational use of marijuana as part of its successful 2015 election campaign, arguing that the new law would keep marijuana out of the reach of underage users and reduce related crimes.
Canada will be the second country in the world to legalize the recreational use of marijuana nationwide, after Uruguay.
