Cannabis in Fredericton
Fredericton sets its own limits on where cannabis can be sold: its zoning bans cannabis retail within 300 metres of any K-12 school and inside one mapped area off Bishop Drive. Consumption follows provincial law, so use is limited to private property anywhere in the city.
Where can you use cannabis in Fredericton?
Only on private property. New Brunswick bans consuming cannabis in any form in places the public can access, and we found no Fredericton bylaw that adds designated areas or exceptions. The riverfront trails, downtown patios and city parks are all off limits, as are festival grounds.
You can use cannabis at home, in your yard, at an occupied campsite, or in someone else's home with their permission. The full provincial rules are on our New Brunswick page.
How does Fredericton zone cannabis stores and growers?
Fredericton wrote cannabis rules into Zoning By-law Z-5 before legalization. Section 10.3(4) says a store that sells cannabis, in whole or in part, cannot be within 300 metres of a lot containing a K-12 school, measured to the property line. It also cannot be inside the area drawn on Schedule 10, a circular zone off Bishop Drive mapped by city staff in January 2018.
Growers face their own limits. A production facility must operate entirely inside an enclosed building, with no outdoor storage and loading done indoors, and must be at least 150 metres from any residential zone. The province layered its own siting on top: Cannabis NB used a 300 metre guideline from schools when it picked its first stores, and committed in 2022 to making that formal policy as private stores were licensed.
| Rule | Applies to | Distance or condition |
|---|---|---|
| School buffer | Any store selling cannabis | 300 m from a K-12 school lot |
| Schedule 10 area | Any store selling cannabis | Not permitted inside the mapped area |
| Residential buffer | Production facilities | 150 m from a residential zone |
| Enclosure | Production facilities | All activity, storage and loading indoors |
What has happened with cannabis in Fredericton since 2018?
Three months before legalization, in July 2018, Fredericton police gave the city's three medical dispensaries 14 business days to close, and all three shut voluntarily. A neighbour of one on Hanwell Road told CBC the shop had become a nuisance, with smoking in the parking lot. Legal sales began on October 17, 2018, with Brookside Drive the first Fredericton site the province had named, and by the second morning a 25-person line at opening was down to 10 within minutes.
The city also saw the industry's ups and downs. A large licensed producer began growing in Fredericton in March 2019 at a $40-million plant, then closed it in December 2020, costing 63 New Brunswick jobs. Enforcement against unlicensed sellers continued, including a July 2024 raid on a Smythe Street shop by provincial peace officers and the Fredericton Police Force that seized cannabis, THC vapes and edibles.
