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Controlled Drugs and Substances Act

s. 4 Possession of Substance

Possession of substance

  • Drug Offences (CDSA)
  • Drug Offences
Maximum sentence
7 years (Schedule I) / 5 years less a day (Schedule II) / 3 years (Schedule III)
Classification
Hybrid

Last verified: June 2026 · Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca

The law says

CDSA s. 4
Verify on justice.gc.ca(opens in a new tab)
  • (1)Except as authorized under the regulations, no person shall possess a substance included in Schedule I, II or III.
  • (2)No person shall seek or obtain (a) a substance included in Schedule I, II, III or IV, or (b) an authorization to obtain a substance included in Schedule I, II, III or IV from a practitioner, unless the person discloses to the practitioner particulars relating to the acquisition by the person of every substance in those Schedules, and of every authorization to obtain such substances, from any other practitioner within the preceding thirty days.
  • (3)Every person who contravenes subsection (1) where the subject-matter of the offence is a substance included in Schedule I (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years; or
  • (b)is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable (i) for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both, and (ii) for a subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both.
  • (4)Subject to subsection (5), every person who contravenes subsection (1) where the subject-matter of the offence is a substance included in Schedule II (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years less a day; or
  • (b)is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable (i) for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both, and (ii) for a subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both. (5) [Repealed, 2018, c. 16, s. 195]
  • (6)Every person who contravenes subsection (1) where the subject-matter of the offence is a substance included in Schedule III (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years; or
  • (b)is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable (i) for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both, and (ii) for a subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both.
  • (7)Every person who contravenes subsection (2) (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable (i) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, where the subject-matter of the offence is a substance included in Schedule I, (ii) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years less a day, where the subject-matter of the offence is a substance included in Schedule II, (iii) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, where the subject-matter of the offence is a substance included in Schedule III, or (iv) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding eighteen months, where the subject-matter of the offence is a substance included in Schedule IV; or
  • (b)is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable (i) for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both, and (ii) for a subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both. (8) [Repealed, 2018, c. 16, s. 195]
Amendment History (2)
  • 1996, c. 19, s. 4
  • 2018, c. 16, s. 195

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Immigration

Where this offence sits under IRPA

Drug possession under the CDSA, Canada’s main drug law, is hybrid. For Schedule I drugs, the top sentence is 7 years, and a conviction creates inadmissibility under IRPA s.36(2) (foreign nationals only). Cannabis moved to the Cannabis Act in October 2018. Possession within that Act’s limits is legal, so a foreign conviction for a small amount may no longer match any Canadian offence. Possession over the limits, or of illicit cannabis, is still an offence. Possession of other drugs is still grounds for inadmissibility.

This is how the law sorts the offence, not a reading of any one record. An officer decides each case.

IRPA sections involved