Safe storage of cannabis

Responsible storage of cannabis contributes to everyone’s safety, particularly children and pets. A serious risk from edible cannabis is accidental poisoning of children. How to store cannabis safely and responsibly is covered on this page.

Keep it out of reach and high up.

Keep your cannabis away and out of children’s and pets’ reach. Always keep edible cannabis out of reach of other foods and beverages. Make sure that the cannabis you make into edibles is properly labelled, so it is clear that it is not food. Keep cannabis out of reach of children at all times.

Keep it in secure packaging

• and come in plain, child-resistant packaging;
• no more than 10 milligrams of THC are contained in each package to reduce the chance of accidental poisoning.

To keep your legal cannabis products safe, keep them in their original packaging.
Commonly, illegal edible cannabis products:

• do not come in child-resistant packaging;
• flashy packaging that, at times, looks like brand-name candies and snacks, which can be appealing to children;
• contain a lot of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis;
• This raises the risk of severe cannabis poisoning and serious harm

Keep it locked

Always use a strong safety latch or lock that is safe for children to store your cannabis in a safe cupboard. To keep your cannabis safe, think about purchasing a safe or lockbox

Cannabis poisoning in children

Prevention: A serious risk from edible cannabis is accidental poisoning of children. Both emergency room visits to hospitals and calls to poison control centres regarding accidental cannabis poisonings have increased. Most of these cases involve children under the age of 5, and many involve children under the age of 12

Cannabis poisoning can be fatal in serious cases, sometimes leading to:

• coma
• being put on a ventilator
• death, in rare cases
• Below are some tips to help to prevent cannabis poisoning in children

Store cannabis safely

Always keep edible cannabis products, even those made at home, out of the reach of children by:

• storing them out of reach;
• locking them away;
• and separating them from typical beverages and food.

Tips on safe of cannabis

Talk to family, friends and caregivers.

If your child spends time in someone else’s house, inquire about their use of marijuana. Make sure they store it safely if they do.
A child can be accidentally exposed to cannabis by anyone, including:

• parents
• grandparents
• siblings
• friends
• babysitters
• your neighbours

Legal cannabis:

• can be recalled by manufacturers, license holders, or Health Canada if there is a potential safety or quality issue
• is tested for harmful levels of contaminants, and quality control
• is tested for the accuracy of THC and CBD levels

Illegal cannabis:

Lacks quality control and testing, and it may contain harmful levels of contaminants like:

• heavy metals
• pesticides
• mould
• cutting agents
• bacteria
• could be made and sold using materials or methods that could harm you.
• may contain harmful levels of THC, resulting in accidental poisonings, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations, particularly in children
• may expose you to identity theft and financial fraud

How to recognize legal cannabis

Only retailers authorized by a province or territory can sell legal cannabis products for non-medical use.
Certain information will always be include on the package and label of a legal cannabis product. To determine whether a cannabis product is legal, look for these features.

• An excise stamp with specific colours that indicates the province or territory in which the product is intende to be sold
• A yellow box with an English and French health warning message
• A standardized cannabis symbol
• Plain, child-resistant packaging (except plants and seeds)
• An edible cannabis nutrition facts table

Refer to How to read and comprehend a cannabis product label for additional information on legal cannabis packaging and labelling.
How to tell if cannabis

Is illegal ? The differences that can be observe An illegal item might:

• Have a multi-coloured package
• that looks like a popular candy or snack food
•  have a name that sounds like a popular candy or snack food
•  look like candy that kids might like, like gummy bears
•  have flashy promotions or other types of publicity, like celebrity endorsements
•  Come in a package that:
• lacks child safety features
• reveals the product through the packaging
• Not have:
• an excise stamp;
• the standard cannabis symbol;
• a French and English health warning message
• TH asserts that each package (edibles only) contains more than 10 mg of THC, more than the maximum permitted for edible products.

C limits for legal cannabis products

There are restrictions on the amount of THC found in legal cannabis products. A product is not legal if it claims to contain more THC than the allowed limit.

The THC limits vary by legal cannabis product type:

• fresh or dried marijuana: no additional THC can be adde (it can contain as much THC as the plant created)
• consumable pot: No matter how many edibles are in a container, the maximum THC per container is 10 mg.
• Cannabis extracts for ingestion or inhalation (such as capsules, oils, or vape pens):
• Topicals: a maximum of 1,000 mg of THC per container, maximum of 1,000 milligrams of THC per bottle

Contact local law enforcement if you have a concern or a complaint about a potential illegal cannabis retailer.

Responsibilities of the provinces and territories

The deal and dispersion of pot inside their purviews are the responsibility of the provinces and territories.

• They impose regulations on:
• how cannabis can be sold,
• where it might be sold,
• how it must be operate,
• and who can sell cannabis

Additional restrictions that provinces and territories can impose include:

• reducing possession restrictions
• making it harder to use cannabis in public places
• imposing additional personal cultivation requirements

Identifying legal cannabis products

Grow cannabis for sale requires a federal cannabis license. This guarantees that all legal cannabis products meet stringent product safety and quality control requirements.
With one exception, only retailers authorized by the governments of the provinces and territories can sell legal cannabis products. You can register to buy cannabis products for medical purposes directly from a seller with a federal license if you have permission from a medical professional.

Every legal cannabis product comes packaged with the following:

• a standardized cannabis symbol;
• mandatory health warnings;
• child-resistant, plain packaging and labelling;
• an excise stamp that varies by province and territory

Except for products with less than 0.3 per cent THC, each province or territory has its excise stamp for legal cannabis products. Like passports and banknotes, the stamp has security features to prevent forged documents.

Identifying illegal cannabis retailers

Only legal retailers in your province or territory should sell cannabis to you. The following are typically telltale signs of an illegal cannabis retailer:

• no verification of age
• appealing products or packaging
• transports cannabis throughout Canada
• promotions for new customers or referrals
• requesting payment via cryptocurrency or e-transfer; credit cards are not accepte.

You ought to get in touch with your neighbourhood law enforcement or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment that is closest to you if you have a complaint or concern regarding a potential illegal cannabis retailer.

Legal cannabis in the provinces and territories

Adults can purchase cannabis seeds, plants, and other legal products from authorized retailers. You are responsible for knowing what is allowe in your home province or territory.

• a link to their list of retail stores;
• their age restriction;
• a brief description of the places where legal cannabis can be purchase;
• their limits on public possession;
• their excise stamps

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