City hosts meeting on cannabis legalization
EXPERTS ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL, PUBLIC
Local residents packed council chambers Monday night to learn more about how cannabis legalization is being handled by the federal, provincial and municipal government.
City council held a Community Issues Committee meeting following their regular meeting in order to hear from three experts as well as field questions from council and the public.
Graham Wadsworth, senior manager for Inspections South with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, presented on provincial regulations and said anyone interested in opening a retail cannabis location has to think about working with regulations on two fronts — the municipal and the provincial level.
“They need to seek licensing and approval from both of those two entities,” he said. “In essence what will happen, is that an applicant will have an application ongoing with the municipality and the province at the same time.”
Kelsey Becker Brookes, an Edmonton-area lawyer, spoke on the federal and provincial legal framework for legalization. She said municipalities should be looking at making changes to their land-use bylaws in order to create new use classes for retail cannabis.
Additionally, there are issues surrounding public consumption, nuisance bylaws and business licensing.
She said municipal councils are largely having the same discussions in regards to legalization.
“I’ve talked to lots of councils over the past couple months about this,” she said. “The location of retail cannabis is a big issue, but I think most people are pretty accepting of the fact there will be retail cannabis stores — let’s just figure out where they work in our municipality.”
She said there is no single solution for every community.
“Every municipality is going to deal with it differently,” she said. “Every municipality has different levels of acceptance for the use of cannabis.
“Different municipalities also have different views on nuisance bylaws. And the other big thing is enforcement. If you’re going to look at making changes to your bylaws regarding nuisance, dealing with consumption, or personal cultivation, at the end of the day, you want to make sure you have the intention and resources to enforce.”
Jeff Greene, director of Planning and Development, said the City will be looking at developing a land-use bylaw which will address the most current information available.
“At this point, what we’re going to have to do is put in a land-use bylaw that addresses what we know,” he said.
He noted unknown elements, such as if there may be rules coming on public consumption, will create challenges for City administration.
Jared Laing, a local resident and self-described cannabis enthusiast, said he attended the meeting in order to hear more about how regulation will be handled. He also came to ask about the possibility of a legal limit regarding driving similar to what has been instituted with alcohol.
“If there’s a zero-tolerance, I believe there should be a zero-tolerance for alcohol as well,” he said.
He said he appreciated being given a chance to come to council and hear more on the issue.
“I really appreciate being a community member and having my opinion valued,” he said.
Jeff Mooij, CEO and president of 420 Clinic in Lethbridge, a company which provides medical advice regarding the use of cannabis, said it is important for municipalities to work with their residents.
“I think we’ve seen a tremendous interest in this throughout the province,” he said. “The province saw it, and each of the municipalities saw it. I think we should be engaging. They should hear what the aches and pains of this, according to what people think and the City of Lethbridge.”
The City has a public hearing planned for June 11 in regards to draft changes to the Land Use Bylaw addressing retail cannabis and define where they are allowed.
Council could make changes to the draft bylaw following the public hearing, or could move ahead with approval of the draft.
At that point, the City will establish a process for receiving retail applications in order to work with the AGLC on implementation of approvals.
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