Oak Bay youth fined $230 for driving with cannabis in his vehicle

Be careful with your cannabis, kids!

One Oak Bay teen found out the hard way that openly carrying cannabis in his vehicle while driving with cost him a pretty penny.

On Sunday night, Oak Bay police issued a $230 ticket to a youth who was driving with an open case of cannabis in vehicle.

“Most concerning is he was likely going to drive away under influence had he not been checked by Police,” reads a tweet by police. “Impaired driving kills people. Why can’t we learn that?”

While the teenager was not impaired, he was fined because he had cannabis readily available. “This is similar to a driver with an open beer in the cup holder,” says Oak Bay police.

Their tweet also included a link to an article about impaired driving written by the Canadian branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The choice to include the article in the tweet drew criticism from a Vancouver lawyer, who replied: “Is it appropriate for a taxpayer funded police force to link to the website of a controversial lobby group that actively solicits donations?”

Recreational cannabis was legalized on October 17th, and the laws that come with it have been criticized by many for being hastily put together.

The legal age for consuming cannabis is 19, and adults can possess up to 30g in a public place. The use of the drug is prohibited in vehicles.

In a similar incident, two teenagers in Langford were fined $230 each for being in possession of cannabis while underage earlier this month.