BY Ty Rothermal and Doug Collie
With the legalization of recreational cannabis coming in a few short months, town councillors have begun deciding how the laws behind cannabis retail sales will work in Olds.
Bylaw amendments to regulate cannabis retail sales in Olds were scheduled for first reading yesterday (Monday, June 25).
A public hearing is expected this fall, with stores getting the go-ahead to sell the product in Olds by Oct. 17, the date recreational consumption of cannabis becomes legal in Canada.
The biggest point of contention was the distance that cannabis retail stores have to be away from health- care facilities and schools.
The minimum distance set by the Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission (AGLC) is 100 metres but many members of council feel that isn’t enough.
Mayor Michael Muzychka has expressed that there will be a larger minimum distance set by the town -- closer to 150 to 200 metres.
“We're in discussions right now about the setbacks. The minimum setback's 100 metres from those places. We're looking at 150. Red Deer's gone to 300. I don't think we can do that; that would be too restrictive.
“But we're looking at 150 to 200 and we're going to map it out, take a look, and see if it becomes too restrictive at those numbers,” said Muzychka.
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that recreational cannabis will become legal on Oct. 17.
Originally, council had looked at finalizing the land use bylaw by October, which would have been a bit of a crunch, but the Oct. 17 date is now a relief.
This gives municipalities like Olds 17 weeks to decide rules and regulations for cannabis retail stores.
“The September date that they initially had said was a little bit quick, I thought, but the October one gives us enough time,” Muzychka said. “So we're happy they pushed it (back) a month.”
Other topics that are being discussed are the hours of operation. The AGLC (Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission) allows for these potential businesses to be open from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.; similar to liquor stores, but municipalities can set their own restrictions.
The province also requires that all cannabis products be kept in sealed packaging to avoid any odour around the area of the stores.
Council would like to get the public's perspective on the matter. It was proposed that they may do some public engagement during the town's Canada Day celebration via an iPad survey, but nothing concrete was decided.
During discussion it was suggested a public hearing would likely be set for sometime in September. The bylaws will then have to receive second and third reading before coming into effect.
