Mountain View County has provided direction to administration regarding proposed changes to cannabis legislation coming to Canada next year.
The move came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
On July 5 council passed a motion instructing administration to prepare possible options for land use bylaw amendments.
"The planning and development services department will do more research and bring back options to council to consider potential amendments to the land use bylaw. We will aim to bring this forward to the policies and priorities committee meeting on September 6," said Margaretha Bloem, director of planning and development services.
In June the county's policies and priorities committee received a recommendation from administration that the land use bylaw be updated through the public hearing process to "address proposed legislative changes to legalize commercial production and sale of cannabis for recreational use."
The federal government has introduced Bill C-45 (the Cannabis Act), which provides for access to, control and regulation of production, distribution and sale of cannabis in Canada by July 2018.
The act will also amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other acts.
Implementation of cannabis legalization will require action by the provinces and territories to develop, implement, maintain and enforce systems to oversee the distribution and retail sale of cannabis in close collaboration with municipalities.
The policies and priorities committee is made up of county councillors.
The provincial government has announced an online survey and a series of stakeholder engagements aimed at gathering public input regarding the new federal cannabis legalization.
The survey - which can be found at www.alberta.ca/cannabis - runs until July 31.
"I encourage everyone to share their views on this issue as we develop a cannabis framework that works for our province," said Kathleen Ganley, minister of justice and solicitor general.
The survey is designed to gather input on Alberta's cannabis goals, purchasing cannabis, using cannabis in public, setting the legal age, protecting roads and workplaces, and the economic implications and opportunities, she said.
"The government will also be conducting stakeholder roundtable meetings, sector-specific meetings and surveys at public events across Alberta," she said.
"Once the public and stakeholder engagement is complete, the input will be used to help form a cannabis framework, which will outline proposed next steps for Alberta."
Deputy Reeve Patricia McKean says the county is encouraging residents to take the survey.
"We will aim to bring this forward to the policies and priorities committee meeting on September 6."Margaretha Bloem
