Marijuana retail outlets given go-ahead
What was expected to be a contentious and potentially hard-fought issue at the most recent meeting of Moose Jaw City Council on Feb. 12 turned out to be as straightforward a turn of events as possible.
And as a result, the city will be receiving two marijuana outlets when legalization becomes official federally this summer. Leading up to the meeting, council had solicited input through polls and various other means as to what direction should be taken locally when it came to the two retail spots offered by the province. The issue drew an exceptional amount of responses, as was represented by the dozen-plus individuals who gathered in the council chambers gallery for the meeting.
One after another, speakers took to the microphone to voice their support for the retail outlets.
There was no dissent. “I think that was great, there was a very respectful tone and I was very appreciative of that,” said Moose Jaw Mayor Fraser Tolmie. “This can be a very contentious issue and we want to look at the things that divide us as well as the things that unite us, and we all live in the same community, a respectful community and it was great to see how people approached this.” Among the first to speak to the issue was Shaun Francis-Drake, who reflected on his own life experience and how the outlets could help others. “I believe we should have these outlets, because if we don’t, the black market will definitely take over,” Francis-Drake said. “I’m actually a survivor of the opioid epidemic, I was a prescription pill junkie. The thing is, THC and cannabis saved my life and there’s many other people who have been through this as well, from a range of walks of life, every walk of life... So I encourage this to be approved by council.”
Armed forces veteran Dennis Johnson brought a wealth of study and knowledge to his presentation to council, having used cannabis for the past five years to deal with pain and damage from four spinal injuries. “My doctor is surprised that I’m actually working,” Johnson said. “But it keeps my anxieties down, it helps with my social life and it benefits so many people... it needs to be looked at as a medication, I’ve used it for five years now and it’s made my life nothing but better. So let’s try and do the same thing for a lot more people, get it legalized and get it on the street properly.” Several other speakers carried the same tone, relating their use of cannabis and how it had improved and or saved their lives. Surprisingly, none took to the podium against the outlets, and it quickly became apparent when it came time for council to make their decision they were of the same mind.
“Personally for this, to me it’s a no brainer to have this in the community for many reasons that were pointed out tonight,” said Coun. Crystal Froese. “It’s also important for us to have a seat at the table when it comes to discussions with the province about how to fund the implementation, everything from our bylaws to our police services, who will have to adjust their service levels as well. By participating in this, we can have feedback with the federal government as well.”
Coun. Brian Swanson then explained that by moving to receive and file the report, the two outlets would be allowed in Moose Jaw – council would have had to actively pass a motion to deny by the province’s Feb. 28 deadline; receiving and fil- ing meant no such motion would happen. The vote was taken and passed unanimously, to applause from the gallery. The decision was only one of many, many steps still to come in the process, something Tolmie was quick to point out in a post-meeting news conference.
“We were able to get some input from the public and we will be waiting a little bit with regards to the provincial government getting back to us with information,” he said. “We want to make the right steps when we open these two stores... We want to make sure it’s away from schools and daycares and youth centres and addiction centres, we want to respectful of those zones. But to get information from people and input from the public, it’s always valuable and it was great to see that response from the community.” While many of the speakers at the city council meeting on Feb. 12 spoke with regards to how cannabis and its products had affected them personally, one took the podium to offer a professional perspective on the subject.
Katrina Zimbaluk, an additions counsellor with the Saskatchewan Health Region, spoke of having the outlets in the city from a harm-reduction standpoint when it came to the sales of marijuana in the province – currently, the street-drug version is often adulterated with other substances or has been grown with chemicals that could be harmful. Having standardized and controlled retail sales will eliminate that issue.
“Having a safer product for individuals is something I think is really important, it just reduces the chances that it’s laced with something else or has been grown with something that might cause people to be sick,” Zimbaluk said. “So if we can regulate it through the federal government and have testing facilities set up, it’ll provide for a safer way of using.
“Unless you know the people who are growing it and what they’re growing it with, you never know. And especially with youth and younger people, their first point of contact is with someone who is selling it on the street so it’s tough to know what they’re getting.” Zimbaluk has seen the kind of impact marijuana laced with other drugs can have on people – she’s come across individuals who have thought there were just smoking a joint, only to have it laced with crystal meth. “So having it for people to use in a safer way is one way we can reduce that harm for individuals and also limit the number of emergency visits that people have, or their encounters with police,” she said. And then there’s the wide variation of marijuana planets currently on the black market – it’s almost impossible to know the strength of a street-dealer’s product, something else that will be controlled and regulated by government-watch retailers.
“All the strains that are out there right now, there are so many THC contents and CBD contents (two active ingredients in marijuana) and what is level is what for these things,” Zimbaluk said. “Now we have all sorts of information from Colorado and California and places that have embarked on this journey before us that are giving us some more information how it all works... hopefully it all helps.”