Cannabis in Moncton
Moncton has no cannabis consumption bylaw of its own, because New Brunswick already bans using cannabis anywhere the public can go: in the city, as everywhere in the province, it's private property only. What is local is the zoning, which keeps grow facilities 150 metres from residential zones and schools, and a long run of police raids on unlicensed dispensaries before and after legalization.
Where can you use cannabis in Moncton?
Only on private property. New Brunswick's Cannabis Control Act bans consuming cannabis in any form, smoking, vaping or eating it, in places the public can access, and we found no Moncton bylaw that adds exceptions such as designated smoking areas, park zones or event spaces. Streets, Riverfront Park trails, patios and festival grounds are all off limits.
That leaves your home, your yard, an occupied campsite, or someone else's home with their permission. The full provincial rules, including vehicles and rentals, are on our New Brunswick page.
How does Moncton zone cannabis businesses?
Moncton's Zoning By-law Z-222 has no special rules for cannabis stores, so a store is treated like other retail. Where stores go is decided by the province: Cannabis NB picked its first sites using a guideline of at least 300 metres from schools, and the province said in 2022 it would make that distance formal policy as private stores arrived.
Growing is a different story. The city amended its zoning in January 2014, before federal licensing of commercial medical growers began, to send production facilities to industrial zones. The current by-law keeps any lot with a production facility at least 150 metres from a residential zone or a school, and every part of the operation must be inside a fully enclosed building. That same year a licensed grower received a Health Canada licence for a 20,000-square-foot plant in the city, making Moncton one of the early homes of Canada's legal cannabis industry.
What has happened with cannabis in Moncton since 2018?
Legal stores opened on schedule, but unlicensed shops kept reappearing, and enforcement moved from the RCMP alone to joint raids with provincial peace officers.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| January 2014 | Council confines grow facilities to industrial zones, 150 m from homes |
| November 2017 | RCMP hand-deliver letters giving Greater Moncton dispensaries 14 days to stop selling |
| February 2018 | RCMP raid two dispensaries on Mapleton Road on Valentine's Day; six people charged |
| October 17, 2018 | Legal sales begin; crowds gather before the 10 a.m. opening at the Main Street store |
| November 2019 | RCMP serve notice on a medical-only dispensary, and supporters rally outside |
| August and October 2022 | Provincial peace officers and Codiac RCMP raid two illegal dispensaries, seizing about $280,000 and $136,000 in goods and cash |
| April 2023 | Two more illegal shops raided, on Collishaw Street and Halifax Street |
If you're unsure whether a shop is legal, the province says licensed private stores display a Cannabis NB badge with a QR code linking to the approved list.
What should visitors to Moncton know?
Plan to consume where you're staying, and only if your host allows it. You can fly out of Greater Moncton airport with cannabis on domestic flights, within the legal possession limit, but taking it on a flight that leaves Canada is illegal. If you're comparing products in a store, our label guide explains THC and CBD numbers, and you can look up any strain in our strain database.
