It’s hardly a day that most weed lovers would celebrate, but Quebec’s provincial police got down and dirty this past Wednesday to take part in Cannabis Plant Eradication Day.

As part of the ACCES-Cannabis program, translated as concerted action against the underground economy, the blitz saw officers with Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and its partners, clippers and choppers in hand, dredge up all manner of illegal weed, according to Renfrew Today.

The idea is to dismantle illicit outdoor grows throughout Quebec, although the most recent eradication day focused on the Center-du-Québec, Estrie, Mauricie, Laurentians and Outaouais regions.

“The seizure of the plants today will add to the provisional toll of the eradication operations which began in August,” notes a translated statement from SQ. Since the beginning of the season, the police report, “more than 27,500 cannabis plants have been seized throughout the territory of the Sûreté du Québec and the police have made some 40 arrests.”

Officer carrying dismantled cannabis plants. / Photo: Screen capture from Sûreté du Québec video / Photo: Screen capture of Sûreté du Québec video

Yes, weed is legal in Canada, but not all cannabis. Products need to be purchased from legitimate vendors and buyers need to be at least 21, the oldest age of majority in the country.

“Despite the Cannabis Act, which is in force, certain activities outside the legal framework remain offences listed in the Criminal Code, such as production, possession for the purpose of trafficking, sale on the black market, importation and export,” the police statement adds.

That being the case, SQ will continue to hold “regional eradication days, like today, during the harvest period and on the entire territory it serves.”