New Brunswick Wants To Force People To Lock Up Their Weed At Home

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who will come up with the dumbest weed laws of them all?

Up until very recently, Ontario was the clear frontrunner with its LCBO-controlled dispensary system, including a woefully inadequate 40 shops by next summer, and ban on public consumption. But New Brunswick is now a serious contender. The province has proposed requiring people to lock up their weed while at home to keep it out of the hands of minors.

This would mean that cannabis consumers would quite literally need to store their weed in a locked room or a lockbox of some kind. The same way the federal government requires firearms be stored.

"For people here in New Brunswick who have guns in their houses, it's locked. It's their responsibility. This will be the same thing," said New Brunswick Justice and Public Safety Minister Denis Landry, according to Global News.

Yes, he is equating deadly guns with weed, a fairly benign psychoactive plant. I'm not even convinced a kid who stumbled across dried bud would know what to do with it. A teenager, sure, but you don't see people locking away their alcohol, cigarettes, or prescription drugs—all of which are much more harmful.

And how would this law be enforced? Are police going to have the right to search the home of any cannabis user in order to ensure they are storing their weed properly? Sounds like a pretty clear civil liberties violation.

We're still waiting on several provinces, including BC and Alberta, to announce their rollout plans for legalization. Let's hope they don't look to Ontario and New Brunswick for advice. Follow Manisha on Twitter.