Reduce your risk: Choose legal cannabis

While cannabis is legal in Canada, illegal products are still being sold and consumed in Canada. Learn to recognize the differences between legal and illegal cannabis, and find out why it matters.

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Why you should choose legal cannabis

Adults of legal age may purchase legal cannabis products from authorized retailers in Canada.

Legal cannabis products must meet the requirements of the Cannabis Act and its regulations, which set out rules for product quality, promotion, packaging and labelling. If you choose to consume cannabis, reduce your risk by choosing legal cannabis products.

Legal cannabis:

Illegal cannabis:

How to recognize legal cannabis

Legal cannabis products for non-medical use are sold only by retailers authorized by a province or territory.

A legal cannabis product will always have certain information on its package and label. Look for these features to determine if a cannabis product is legal.

For more information on legal cannabis packaging and labelling, refer to How to read and understand a cannabis product label.

How to recognize illegal cannabis

Here are differences you can look for. An illegal product may:

THC limits for legal cannabis products

There are rules about how much THC is permitted in legal cannabis products. If a product claims to contain more THC than the allowed limit, then it's not a legal product.

The THC limits vary by legal cannabis product type:

If you're concerned or have a complaint about a possible illegal cannabis retailer, contact your local law enforcement or nearest RCMP detachment.

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