Legalization Of Cannabis: Upping The Risk Factor

Cannabis is legal in Canada today. Insurers must be mindful of how the new legislation will impact certain policies. In this article I will review the legislative changes and some of the implications for home and auto insurance.

The Legislation

Today in B.C. the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act, SBC 2018 c 29 ("CCLA") establishes the following:

A cannabis retail licensing regime similar to the current licensing regime for liquor Anyone 19 or older can purchase sell or consume cannabis; Adults can possess up to 30 grams of cannabis in a public place; Adults can grow up to four cannabis plants per household (the plants must not be visible from public spaces off the property, and home cultivation will be banned in day-cares); and Amendments to the Residential Tenancy Act and Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act to provide that: tenancy agreements entered into before the CCLA comes into force that contain a term that prohibits smoking tobacco on the property are deemed to include a term that prohibits smoking cannabis tenancy agreements entered into before the CCLA comes into force are deemed to contain a term prohibiting the growing of cannabis. As a result of the CCLA provisions, amendments have been made to B.C.'s motor vehicle legislation, including:

implementation of a 90-day Administrative Driving Prohibition for any driver whom police reasonably believe operated a motor vehicle while affected by a drug or by a combination of a drug and alcohol, based on analysis of a bodily substance or an evaluation by a specially trained police drug recognition expert; New drivers in the Graduated Licensing Program will be subject to a zero-tolerance restriction for the presence of THC; and Police are allowed to serve a notice of licence suspension if: the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the driver has a prescribed drug in his or her body as a result of the officer's evaluation of the driver and/or an analysis by approved drug screening equipment, the driver fails or refuses, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a demand to be tested by approved drug screening equipment, and because the driver has a blood drug concentration equal to or exceeding a prescribed blood drug concentration level within 2 hours of operating a motor vehicle, or a combination of blood drug and alcohol concentrations exceeding the prescribed combination level. Home Insurance

Many home insurance policies contain exclusions based on possession, use and...