By battlefordsNOW

Marijuana legalization still leaves many questions unanswered

Jun 10, 2017 | 9:00 AM

The impending legalization of marijuana will have a significant impact on communities and North Battleford Mayor, Ryan Bater, said the discussion of how to deal with it is happening.

Representatives from cities all over the country gathered in Ottawa for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference to talk about policies with federal government leaders last week. Bater also attended the conference and said the federal government’s decision to legalize marijuana next year was one of the hot topics between municipal leaders. 

“Municipalities made it clear that we want to be consulted,” Bater said. “There is an impact on local policing because we are responsible for delivery of policing here. The enforcement of laws is a concern to us, as is how this will be taxed and how we are expected to pay for the policing. There are still a lot of questions out there and we want to make sure we are part of the conversation.”

Bater said conversations didn’t happen with federal officials on the matter. The conversations were had amongst the municipal leaders themselves. Bater does expect talks to begin at the federal level soon and hopes to get answers in the next few months. He also expects there to be a toolkit available for municipalities prior to the official legalization.

Bater said the legalization of marijuana will have a significant impact on North Battleford. He added it would include the production of the drug along with selling and possessing it. The mayor said there are two area’s most relevant to municipalities, the first being zoning for retail and production.

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“We just went through a bylaw amendment for the production of medicinal marijuana,” Bater said. “We have issues about retail now if it is going to be legalized. We want to make sure the sale and production of this product happen in areas of the city where it is most appropriate. I don’t think we want to see a retail outlet next to a school.”

The other area Bater focused on was enforcement, particularly when it comes to impaired driving. North Battleford was one of the municipalities selected to trial the road side saliva test. Bater said he is isn’t sure what will come of those test and is still waiting to see what tools the RCMP will be equipped with.

Bater said there needs to be more clarity as to where and when marijuana can be consumed. He compared it to alcohol where it is a legal substance, but people can’t drink it in certain areas.

“Lots of questions still and hopefully over the next year we will get lots of answers,” Bater said.

Greg.higgins@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @realgreghiggins.