Woman pleads guilty to distribution by mistake

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According to their packaging, the candy bags contained 600milligrams of the psychoactive property of cannabis called tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. (File photo)

Radio-Canada

Winnipeg woman pleaded guilty to distributing cannabis candy “by mistake” to children during Halloween last year. He is one of two people accused in this case.

Saul Simmonds, the accused's lawyer, told the Winnipeg court on Thursday that she was pleading guilty to two counts for  inadvertently providing the items on October 31.

The defense lawyer admitted before Judge Julie Frederickson that his client  accepted responsibility .

Charges were announced earlier this year for several offenses against a couple. Each member of the couple each faces 13 counts of distributing cannabis to a young person and distributing cannabis knowing that it is an illicit product.

Criminal offenses surrounding the distribution of cannabis to minors can carry up to 14 years in prison, according to the Cannabis Act.

The two offenses to which the accused pleaded guilty were not criminal, but regulatory in nature.

After Halloween last year, police said they received more than a dozen complaints about candy being handed out to children in south Tuxedo.

Police subsequently arrested the couple, aged 63 and 53, after searching a house on Coleraine Crescent.

The children who received the cannabis candies range in age from 6 to 16, according to police.

The candies were dispensed in snap-and-zip bags, and their packages indicated they contained 600 milligrams of the psychoactive property of cannabis called tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

In Canada, edible products can legally only contain 10 milligrams per package.

Police add that no problems have been reported among children who received these treats.

With information from Bryce Hoye