Winnipeg

Law Enforcement

The old rule of thumb was that a single bag under 28–30 g was treated differently from several smaller bags. A scale, cash or as little as 10 g divided up could look like dealing. Outcomes varied. More than 9 g got taken in one stop, though the gear stayed intact. A hotboxed car sometimes got a warning, and a three-foot glass bong in the street got a long look from a passing cruiser. An officer once found around 20 g on a fifteen-year-old, told the nearby school and threw the weed in the river. Seriously.

Rules on adult personal possession have changed since these accounts. See Marijuana Laws.

Where to Buy Marijuana

Osborne Village was the usual starting point in months that didn’t require a parka. “The Circle” was Osborne and River, in front of the Subway, with a bus shelter people moved into in winter. A foil-wrapped gram might be only 0.5–0.6 g, and there were worries about laced weed and people getting roughed up. Near Osborne and Roslyn, the “Roslyn Pharmacy” could turn up good stuff or a bag a gram short.

Portage Place was the mall along Portage Avenue, four or five blocks west of Main, with skywalks to the offices. The busy bus stop out front and the marble square to the east got mentioned. In summer there were two hot dog carts. Maybe it was the hot dogs. For better bud, a local introduction made a difference. The licence plates did say “Friendly Manitoba.”

Marijuana Prices

• 1 g: usually C$10. A street dime bag could weigh less.
• Quarter-ounce: usually C$50–65, with quotes as low as C$40 or as high as C$70 for primo.
• Half-ounce: about C$90–110.
• Ounce: roughly C$150–230 across the accounts. Summer 2007 was quoted at C$170–190.
• Quarter-pound: C$400–800.

Good bud cost more during a summer drought. Winter hydro usually brought prices down. Prices on the reserve were said to differ.

Types of Marijuana

Schwag was the low end, around C$170 or less an ounce. Commercial weed, about C$180 an ounce, could be decent or turn out to be schwag. Primo, bomb and dank usually meant good hydro at C$200–280 an ounce, with C$220 a typical figure. Some purple bud and flower sold under other broad names also turned up. It changed from seller to seller.

More Information

Great weed “9/10 times,” if the spoiled locals were to be believed. On 4/20, hundreds gathered at the Manitoba Legislative Building, the “Leg,” pronounced “ledge.” Security and police stood by. Hot dog and ice cream vendors turned up, sometimes with a discount for a smoking shop if you bought something. It felt like a smoker’s paradise.