Cannabis Freedom Index

Changelog fc37fc9

Record New Brunswick's private retailers and outdoor private consumption, the Northwest Territories' designated vendors, and New South Wales' 30 g caution threshold. Fixes #91, #92, #93 and #94.

3 country profiles edited2 files of code, design or docs +97 −13 lines

Countries and states 3 files

New South Wales countries/au/nsw.yaml

summary

Police may issue a caution an eligible adult for up to 1530 g of dried cannabis, at most twice; otherwise possession is. Possession remains an offence, with up to 20 penalty units or two years.

segments › possession

Illegal. Police may issue a, at their discretion, caution an adult for up to 15personal use or possession of not more than 30 g of dried cannabis, or for equipment used with it. An adult can receive only two cautions. A person with an unspent conviction for a first or secondserious drug offence; otherwise the maximum is a $2not eligible. Fresh cannabis,200 fine living plants, hash, hash oil and a quantity that is mostly seeds are outside the scheme. Otherwise possession can bring 20 penalty units, two years in prison, or both.

segments › enforcement

Cautions at police discretion, criminal charges otherwiseA caution is discretionary and limited to two. Otherwise the person is charged.

sources

NSW Police — Cannabis Cautioning Scheme Guidelines for Police, version 5.0 (May 2025) Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), sections 10 and 21 NSW Police — Drug programs and initiatives

New Brunswick countries/ca/nb.yaml

summary

Age 19. Government-operated Cannabis NB shops; consumption only in, approved private retailers and farmgate outlets. Adults may consume at a private dwelling, on its land, or at an occupied campsite.

segments › consumption

Private residences only; consumptionAdults may consume at home, on the adjoining property, including a backyard, or at an occupied campsite. Consumption in public places is prohibited. In someone else's home, the homeowner's permission is required.

segments › access

Government-operated Cannabis NB shops, approved private retailers and private farmgate outlets. Cannabis NB also sells online sales.

sources

Cannabis NB — Private retailers and FarmGate Cannabis NB — About Cannabis NB Government of New Brunswick — Cannabis 2 unchanged

Northwest Territories countries/ca/nt.yaml

summary

Age 19. Government-runApproved vendors, including private shops, and online sales; communities. A community may vote to restrict or banprohibit cannabis locally.

segments › access

Government-operatedCannabis is sold by vendors the Minister designates, including private shops, and through an approved online sales; communitiesstore. A community may hold votesvote to restrict or prohibit cannabis. Once a store is operating, a vote cannot restrict sales at that store.

sources

Cannabis Products Act, SNWT 2018, c 6, office consolidation Government of the Northwest Territories — GNWT designates private cannabis retailers (1 December 2020) Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission — Where to buy cannabis Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission — Cannabis 1 unchanged

Code, design and documents 2 files

docs/research/profile-legal-nb-nt-nsw-2026-10-24.md +25 −0
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, and New South Wales, 24 October 2026
+
+Issues #91 to #94. Texts opened before the profiles were rewritten. Scores are unchanged.
+
+## Read
+
+- Cannabis NB, private retailers and FarmGate. Private stores are owned and operated by private retailers under their own names, certified by Cannabis NB and licensed by the Department of Justice and Public Safety. FarmGate stores are owned and operated by licensed New Brunswick producers and sell their own products on site. https://www.cannabis-nb.com/PrivateRetailers-DetaillantPrive/
+- Cannabis NB, About Cannabis NB. The 28 July 2026 first-quarter release for 2026–27 says Cannabis NB and its partners are the only legal retailers, and lists 32 Cannabis NB stores, 12 private retailers and 8 farmgate outlets. The same page still carries an earlier release telling customers they can buy online at cannabis-nb.com. Store counts differ between quarterly releases on that page, so the profile names the kinds of outlet and does not freeze a count. https://www.cannabis-nb.com/about-cannabis-nb/
+- Government of New Brunswick, Cannabis. Consumption is prohibited in public. It is allowed at home, on the backyard or property, and at an occupied campsite. In someone else's home, the homeowner's permission is required. https://www.gnb.ca/en/topic/family-home-community/housing-property/cannabis.html
+- Cannabis Products Act, SNWT 2018, c 6, office consolidation including SNWT 2019, c 29 and SNWT 2020, c 14. Section 5: the Minister designates a person as a vendor to operate a cannabis store. Sections 12 and 13: a community may approve a restriction or prohibition system after a council asks the Minister to hold a plebiscite. Section 14: once a store is operating, a plebiscite cannot restrict sales at that store. https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/files/legislation/cannabis-products/cannabis-products.a.pdf
+- Government of the Northwest Territories, 1 December 2020. ReLeaf NT and Trailblazers Cannabis Shop were designated as private retailers in Yellowknife. The release also says requests for proposals were issued for private retailers in Hay River, Fort Smith, Norman Wells, Inuvik and Fort Simpson. https://www.gov.nt.ca/en/newsroom/gnwt-designates-private-cannabis-retailers
+- Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission, where to buy. Legal cannabis is sold only through NTLCC-approved vendors or the approved online store. The current list names ReLeaf NT, Trailblazer Cannabis Shop and other vendors, and gives ReLeaf an online store. https://www.ntlcc.ca/en/cannabis/where-buy-cannabis
+- Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission, cannabis overview. Purchase is limited to approved vendors or the approved online store. https://www.ntlcc.ca/en/cannabis
+- NSW Police, Cannabis Cautioning Scheme Guidelines for Police, version 5.0, publication date May 2025. Police may caution an adult for use or possession of not more than 30 g of dried cannabis, or equipment, at most twice. The caution is discretionary. Fresh cannabis, living plants, hash, hash oil and a quantity that is mostly seeds are outside the scheme. An unspent conviction for a serious drug offence excludes the person. Endnote 2 says the threshold rose from 15 g to 30 g. The version history dates version 5 to April 2025 and describes it as minor edits; it does not give a calendar day for the threshold change. https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/858242/Cannabis_Cautioning_Scheme_-_Guidelines_for_Police.pdf
+- NSW Police, drug programs and initiatives. The cautioning scheme does not change the legal status of cannabis. Police may charge instead of cautioning. A person can be cautioned only twice. https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/crime/drugs_and_alcohol/drugs/drug_pages/drug_programs_and_initiatives
+- Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), current compilation. Section 10 makes possession of a prohibited drug an offence. Section 21 sets the penalty for that division at 20 penalty units or imprisonment for two years, or both. https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-1985-226
+
+## Not opened
+
+- The New Brunswick enforcement factsheet PDF. The government cannabis page already lists the home, property and occupied-campsite places.
+- The older government URL that returned 404. The current gnb.ca cannabis page was read instead.
+- A current New South Wales penalty-unit value. The profile states the Act's 20 penalty units and does not repeat the old $2,200 figure.
+- A commencement day for the rise from 15 g to 30 g. The May 2025 guidelines are the text that was read. No history entry was added.
+
+Access stays at 6 in New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories because licensed shops with a purchase cap remain the lawful route. Consumption stays at 3 in New Brunswick because public consumption is still prohibited; a backyard and an occupied campsite are private places under that page. Possession stays at 2 in New South Wales, and enforcement at 3, because a small amount is still a criminal offence and the caution is discretionary. The 2000 history entry still describes the original trial as 15 g, which is what that entry is about.

scripts/history-scope.test.cjs +24 −0
@@ -812,2 +812,26 @@ test("Prince Edward Island's grow rules, Western Australia's intervention notice
   assert.equal(act.scores.cultivation, 3);
 });
+
+test("New Brunswick retail and consumption, Northwest Territories vendors and the NSW caution threshold follow the texts that were read", () => {
+  const nb = y.load(fs.readFileSync("countries/ca/nb.yaml", "utf8"));
+  const nt = y.load(fs.readFileSync("countries/ca/nt.yaml", "utf8"));
+  const nsw = y.load(fs.readFileSync("countries/au/nsw.yaml", "utf8"));
+  assert.match(nb.segments.access, /private retailers/);
+  assert.match(nb.segments.access, /farmgate/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(nb.segments.access, /Government-operated/);
+  assert.match(nb.segments.consumption, /campsite/);
+  assert.match(nb.segments.consumption, /backyard/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(nb.segments.consumption, /residences only/);
+  assert.equal(nb.scores.access, 6);
+  assert.equal(nb.scores.consumption, 3);
+  assert.match(nt.segments.access, /private shops/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(nt.summary, /Government-run/);
+  assert.match(nt.segments.access, /store is operating/);
+  assert.equal(nt.scores.access, 6);
+  assert.match(nsw.segments.possession, /30 g of dried cannabis/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(nsw.summary, /15 g/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(nsw.segments.possession, /\$2,200/);
+  assert.match(nsw.segments.possession, /20 penalty units/);
+  assert.equal(nsw.scores.possession, 2);
+  assert.equal(nsw.scores.enforcement, 3);
+});

    ↑↓ to move, ↵ to open.