Province faces plenty of hurdles in creating pot laws: attorney general
It will be a “huge challenge” to get Saskatchewan ready for the expected July 1 legalization of marijuana, attorney general Don Morgan says.
“We will have to introduce legislation at some point during the fall session so it can be voted (on) in the spring. So for us to get the information out of the survey, announce to the public ‘this is what we’re hearing ’ so that people know this is the consensus we’re getting from the province, and then get legislation in and workable, is going to be a real challenge.”
The province’s online cannabis survey has had 30,876 responses, including 23,197 fully completed surveys and 7,679 partly completed, Morgan said.
“I found it intriguing that there were that many, by a long shot.”
The survey covers policy issues such as how cannabis should be made available for purchase, whether consumption should be prohibited in public and what the legal age of consumption should be. It’s open until Oct. 6.
“But the operational part from next year is going to be an even bigger challenge, because we don’t have the mechanisms in place for testing drivers, testing people in the workplace where there’s been an incident,” Morgan said.
“We know that in some jurisdictions they’re using a swab, but we’d have to identify how accurate the swabs are, will we be able to have access to enough of them, are they reliable? Just the mechanics of getting it up to speed is going to be huge.”
People who have contacted the government are concerned about pot in the hands of children, Morgan said. The default age under the legislation is 18, but some say it should be higher to safeguard developing brains. He also worries about second-hand marijuana smoke, he said.
The Saskatchewan Medical Association at its spring representative assembly called for the legal age of use to be set at 21, president Joanne Sivertson said.
“There’s evidence out there that prolonged use of marijuana can have negative effects on a developing brain, and we know the brain develops well into a person’s 20s.”
The SMA also wants the same consideration given to pot as is given to alcohol when it comes to packaging and labelling that doesn’t target youth, and perhaps limits to the hours and locations marijuana is available, she said.
In an emailed statement, Saskatoon city police spokeswoman Kelsie Fraser said the police force “has not had a chance to review the provincial survey as it relates to the question of regulations and legislation. Some of the issues that we raised at meetings in Ottawa last week surround the need for public education, the impact on and cost of training, and our concerns about impaired driving and personal cultivation.”