Just one day after recreational cannabis became legal in Canada, a driver in Dartmouth, N.S., received the first ticket in the province for illegal transportation of the drug.

RCMP officers stopped a vehicle on Woodlawn Road at 2:30 a.m. on Thursday and found marijuana in the centre console next to the driver.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl Dal. Hutchinson said the driver had purchased the cannabis on Wednesday evening, and when the officer stopped him, the container was open and some of the cannabis was missing.

"It was right there in plain sight, like, within inches from where the driver would have had their hand," Hutchinson said.

The officer determined that the driver was not impaired, but still gave him a ticket for $295.

Cannabis must be out of reach

Hutchinson said under the Cannabis Control Act, drivers must keep cannabis out of reach of the driver and occupants, whether the package has been opened or not.

He advised drivers to place cannabis in the trunk or, in vehicles without trunks, in a storage compartment out of reach of the driver.

"A lot of SUVs, minivans and trucks don't have the luxury of having a trunk. So you've got to be creative and use common sense," Hutchinson said.

"In a half-tonne truck, let's say, if there's no toolbox in the back where you can store it, then put it behind the back seat that's not accessible, especially by the driver.… Minivans or SUVs have a little storage compartment in the very back — that's the best place for it."

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