Alberta takes lessons from Colorado as it prepares for cannabis legalization

Expect the unexpected.

That sage advice from Dan Rowland, director of public affairs for Denver, Col., comes after more than five years of experience dealing with the legalization of cannabis and its ripple effects.

“I think it’s imperative that governments, whether it’s the provincial level or the local level, set themselves up to be nimble and flexible,” he said.

“There’s a ton of education that needs to happen.

“Even for savvy consumers, there’s going to be a regulated marketplace for this, so they need to know what that means, as well.”

Kim Capstick, executive director of engagement and outreach for the Alberta Cannabis Secretariat, is in many ways Rowland’s counterpart for the Alberta government. She has been in the job for 10 months.

“We didn’t invent cannabis. Cannabis is here today, and people are using it today, both legally and illegally,” she said this week, adding that legalization allows for public education that isn’t centred on abstinence.

“It’s about arming people with facts.”

In 2017, the government collected 60,000 online, telephone and in-person surveys from Albertans to help inform the provincial framework, she said.

“People can have conversations with their kids ... and colleagues ... that they probably couldn’t have a year ago.”

The secretariat has consulted with authorities further along in the legalization process, including Washington state and Colorado, she said.

Washington became the first U.S. state to legalize the recreational use of cannabis in 2012. Colorado followed shortly after.

Legalization is slated to happen across Canada on July 1.