Driving with pot may be legal, but only if it's sealed or not readily accessible – and a West Shore driver learned that the hard way.
Police handed a driver a $230 fine for pot possession Wednesday, after they were pulled over for a traffic violation on Jacklin Road at Highway 14.
Mounties say the driver was unable to produce a driver's licence and officers smelled the strong odour of marijuana inside the vehicle.
"Sure enough there was 23 grams of cannabis in a ziplock bag sitting on the front passenger seat," West Shore RCMP said in a media release.
Under Canada's Cannabis Control Licensing Act, which came into effect last year, drivers are allowed to travel with marijuana but only if it's sealed in original federal packaging.
"If the package is open, it must not be accessible to the driver or passengers while driving," said spokeswoman Const. Nancy Saggar. "If you are going to travel with cannabis in the vehicle, the safest place to put it is in your trunk and not on your front seat."
Police say the rule is similar to alcohol, in that drivers cannot transport an open bottle of liquor in a car where they or passengers can access it.
The bag of pot was seized, and the driver was also issued a warning for being unable to produce their licence.
The Cannabis Control and Licensing Act states that an adult cannot operate a vehicle with cannabis in it, unless the product is federally produced and has never been opened, or unless it is not readily accessible to the driver or any passengers in the vehicle.
