Coming this summer, possibly to a store near you: legal pot.
So are you ready for it?
A day-long seminar this Thursday at Township Fire Hall 2 aims to clear some of the haze surrounding the intricacies of legalizing marijuana.
With the Canadian Senate passing the second reading of Bill C-45 late last month, pot legalization has moved one step closer.
The federal government plans to enact this legislation in the summer.
Many jurisdictions are wondering how this will affect their communities as the responsibilities of the provincial and federal governments are clear 鈥� leaving municipalities, local governments and other jurisdictions in a grey area.
The Township of 91原创 and FireWise Consulting is presenting 鈥楥annabis Legalization: What it Means for Local Governments鈥� on April 26 at the Fort 91原创 Fire Hall (23137 96 Ave.) from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
This seminar will see representatives from local governments and protective services including mayors, members of council, finance personnel, human resources, bylaw enforcement, building inspectors, community planners, firefighters and police services come together to learn from a notable team of speakers.
The public is also invited to register. Cost is $297 plus GST, and includes lunch.
Register online at:
鈥淭his will be an engaging, informative, educational and unique event highlighting what we should prepare for and expect in B.C., while learning from other jurisdictions that have already faced cannabis legalization,鈥� it鈥檚 noted in a press release.
鈥淭he federal government has made this legislation to make cannabis legal; the provincial government is doing their thing, but the workings of it is going to fall to the local government,鈥� said Bob Turley, program developer with FireWise Consulting Ltd.
鈥淭he complaints: what are they going to do about a smoke complaint, or a smell complaint, what are the impacts on the general public, the municipality? The municipality is going to have to do inspections, they are going to respond to complaints. People are going to applying for business licences for everything from growing the product to retailing the product and all the steps that go with that. Those are the kinds of things we鈥檙e going to talk about.鈥�
Topics and presenters include:
鈥� Navigating Local Government Law presented by Sukhbir Manhas, partner at Young Anderson and British Columbia municipal law expert
鈥� Lessons Learned from Marijuana Legalization in Colorado presented by Marc Vasquez, Retired Police Chief, Erie, Colo.; and
鈥� Deepak Anand from Cannabis Compliance Inc., who will be sharing info on federal and provincial regulations 鈥� proposed and existing.
City of 91原创 Mayor Ted Schaffer, who doesn鈥檛 plan on attending the seminar, said the City is waiting for more information from the provincial government before moving forward with any kinds of bylaws and legislation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still in the hands of staff,鈥� Schaffer said. 鈥淲e as a council haven鈥檛 had any discussions on the subject. That鈥檚 the bottom line.鈥�
Senior advisor to Township Council Bill Storie said the legalization of marijuana is 鈥渃onvoluted鈥� at this stage.
鈥淭he federal government says one thing, the province says what they鈥檙e looking for and it鈥檒l be up to the municipalities with downloading, to try to monitor these things,鈥� Storie said.
Dispenseries aren鈥檛 permitted anywhere in the Township under current zoning. Whether this situation will change 鈥渨ill be a council decision down the road,鈥� Storie said.
鈥淎t the present time, if you came the the Township and said, 鈥業 want to open up a dispensery, we would tell you no. It鈥檚 not a permitted use.鈥�
Storie predicted that, once cannabis legalization is passed on either July 1 or sometime after that federally targeted date, it will be 鈥渄ifficult for the province to figure out what their system is going to look like and then everything else will be downloaded to the municipalities.鈥�
Another link to the event is:
