A number of on-the-fly changes were proposed Calgary city councillors have proposed a number of relaxations on proposed cannabis retailer rules. On Wednesday, during a council committee, administration presented their land use bylaw rules to ready the city's policies ahead of marijuana legalization. But just like rolling your first joint, the process wasn't easy. The rules will now be smoothed over and sent to an April council meeting before being passed into official law. If council approves the changes made at the committee level, cannabis stores won't be restricted by distance when it comes to opening up shop near post-secondary institutions. [continues 328 words]
Retailers watch on as city drafts regs on where shops can open The cans and can'ts for Calgary cannabis retailers are taking shape this month, but some prospective shops are pointing out that perception could still be tainting the city's proposed bylaws. On Wednesday, councillors will see administration's land use amendments to add cannabis retail store rules to the city's bylaws. These tweaks will go before the council in an April public hearing. Out of three options, the city's going with one that would treat cannabis retailers a little like liquor stores - but not entirely the same as booze businesses. [continues 338 words]
Survey suggests renters more likely to smoke marijuana An advocacy group for renters say a city survey is needlessly pitting homeowners and landlords against a vulnerable community. This week, the City of Calgary put out their citizen cannabis survey, which included data about how Calgarians feel about impending legalization along with some pointed policy questions to help the city as they draft new rules for weed. The survey found that renters are more likely to currently smoke marijuana at 32 per cent when compared to 12 per cent homeowners reporting they currently puff. When it comes to home growing, the city found that of those who were likely to grow marijuana plants inside their home 68 per cent of those were living in rented town homes or apartments. In Calgary particularly, the term renter has become a dirty word - especially when it comes to the politics of putting in secondary suites. The divisive term is often in the middle of council discussions. [continues 264 words]
Calgary Staff, students developing on provincial pot policy How does weed fit in with higher education? It's hard to draw a conclusion. With only months to go before the federal government lights up marijuana legislation, Calgary's post-secondary institutions are just beginning the process of establishing how dope will fit into academic life. Both the University of Calgary and Mount Royal University have lit up their own marijuana working groups to look at the federal and provincial rules and pack their own policies through their respective governance processes. [continues 303 words]
July 1 not the right time, says Nenshi Mayor Naheed Nenshi has concerns about the city's stance on marijuana rules - but following this past Canada Day, he's also dissing the feds' plan to legalize weed for next year's big celebration. On Thursday, during an intergovernmental affairs committee meeting, the mayor shared some thoughts on the city's official advocacy stance being delivered to the provincial government. "I am advocating very, very hard with the federal government that July 1 is the stupidest possible day," Nenshi said at the meeting, before expanding on his concerns with reporters. [continues 164 words]
Calgary entrepreneur ready to grow weed business A federal timeline for marijuana legalization means Alberta entrepreneurs are ready to grow their businesses. Legalization legislation is coming to parliament in early April, and on Monday the federal government said they plan to have pot policies in place before Canada Day 2018. The City of Calgary sent documents to the federal government with their legalization wish-list as the Taskforce for Marijuana Legalization and Regulation worked away on a report that was released late last year. [continues 359 words]
Would-be weed entrepreneurs await federal framework Although not clear how pot legalization will go down, Albertans are already planning to piggyback business on the marijuana economy. In Colorado, when pot was decriminalized in the state, their local tourism board didn't touch the stuff, because it's not federally legal. Yet if you plan a trip to the toking state, there are many services purporting to be 420 friendly. And according to Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Kathleen Ganley, because of the state's restrictions on smoking outside, and of course, in restaurants, they quickly found the edibles market exploding. [continues 585 words]
Support for legal pot highest among millennials Albertans are increasingly cool with the legalization of kush. A new ThinkHQ/Metro News survey has found that two-thirds of Albertans - - 65 per cent - agree the drug should be legal, while only 20 per cent admit that when it's legal, they will toke up. That's an even higher rate of acceptance than a poll Insights West published in 2014, where half of Albertans asked would like to see the substance legalized. [continues 344 words]
Calgary's city council is going to bat for those with green thumbs, instead of being caught up in the weeds of hobbyist marijuana growers. This is a nod to the federal government as it embarks on regulatory framework for legalizing recreational marijuana. On Thursday, the city committee discussed an "advocacy position" on regulating and legalizing marijuana. This document will give the federal government an idea of what the municipality would like to see when the drug is legalized in the spring of 2017. [continues 187 words]
Through the smoke and mirrors of Calgary's bylaws, one medical marijuana user is celebrating a small victory. Ticketed for her medicinal marijuana use in a Calgary Transit bus shelter, Lisa "Mamakind" Kirkman was prepared to challenge her fines, over $1,500 in infractions, as a Charter of Rights and Freedoms case. But after a year of fighting the write-ups, charges against her were withdrawn on Wednesday, according to her lawyer, because of a vague bylaw. "The charges were withdrawn," said Student-at-Law Elizabeth Weisenburger. "Essentially the wording of the bylaw mostly pertained to burning pipe tobacco ... it was vague as to whether it included cannabis smoke." [continues 378 words]
Legalized Pot Could Mean Changes to City Regulations Calgary's smoking bylaw may not yet pass the puff test when it comes to marijuana regulation. On Wednesday, a Calgary woman facing several charges for smoking in a bus shelter didn't pay a cent to the city because she was medicating with medical marijuana. Her lawyer pointed out part of the reason the city withdrew charges was because of the tobacco laden language in the bylaw. The city's smoking bylaw, which bans puffing in public places, was passed in 2006 and reinforced by the Tobacco Reduction act in 2008. But pot isn't tobacco. According to the city's chief bylaw officer Alvin Murray there's no section or listed exemption for medical marijuana or recreational use, because the bylaw simply isn't about marijuana at all. [continues 243 words]
City establishes rules for clinics prescribing marijuana Calgary has now begun regulating marijuana counselling services, sparking debate over fears of what the pot-peddling establishments could become. Medical marijuana counselling services are now required to apply for a building permit and ensure they're not within 300 meters of one another, while also not being within 150 metres of a school. These measures were introduced in hopes of getting ahead of what some, including mayor Naheed Nenshi, fear could be a crowding out of businesses and the tarnishing of neighbourhoods with pot leaves. [continues 267 words]
What 'makes sense' in Ontario makes less sense here While Ontario mulls how to handle the imminent sale of legalized marijuana, Alberta still considers conversations about how to handle dope premature. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said it would "make a lot of sense" for Ontario's government-run liquor stores to sell marijuana, Monday. She added their stores, owned by the government, have the experience and expertise to sell legalized marijuana in a responsible way. [continues 226 words]
