By Tyler Marr

City greets initial rules on cannabis sales, urge haste on further details

Jan 8, 2018 | 2:13 PM

The haze around legal marijuana legislation in Saskatchewan was partially waved away Monday, when the province announced its plan for cannabis sales.

In a release, the province outlined how wholesaling and retailing of cannabis will be regulated by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) and distributed to residents via private retailers. SLGA will initially issue 60 retail permits in up to 40 municipalities and First Nations communities with populations of at least 2,500 across the province. Larger communities will be granted additional permits. 

Currently, two permits are up for grabs in Prince Albert. However, as each community has the option to opt out, that number could rise. 

The topic came up a number of times during city council’s first gathering of 2018 Monday night.

It was sparked by Mark McCaul, a local medical marijuana advocate and owner of The Hum, who pitched the city on his plans to delve into the world of medical cannabis by vying to secure a dispensary next to his current location off Central Ave.

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“As an education centre first and foremost, we want to be able to provide medicine for people with prescriptions to safely access their medicine,” McCaul said. “Prince Albert is in need of what is an essential service for our community.”

He went on to say he has no plans to sell dry cannabis until it is legal and rather would operate in the world of oils, creams and edibles. 

“We are striving to educate all walks of life on how we can bring a positive change in life and health following best practices,” he said.

As licensing decisions will be up to the province, Mayor Greg Dionne was blunt in his reply and simply wished McCaul luck in his endeavours. He said the city is watching “the provincial government with interest” as the “announcement this morning sort of caught us off guard.”

“I am pushing the province to answer,” Dionne said, noting a number of details that still need to be hashed out, such as the minimum age to buy.

Coun. Ted Zurakowski wanted to get information out for “anyone who is thinking about that as a career choice.”

“The sooner we can get information out to the public and the small business entrepreneur; we need to have that conversation,” he said.

Councillors stressed the need for public safety and to ensure dispensaries do not set-up in residential areas, near schools, youth or recreation centres. Administrators said there are still significant questions that need answers before a bylaw could come forward, and informed council a number of managers were crafting early laws.

Educated sellers key in retail cannabis sales: local advocate

The private sales model with government oversight was welcomed by local advocate and medical cannabis consultant Jamie Novotny, who said it will give those well versed on the subject an opportunity to educate the community.

“Education is number one,” Novotny told paNOW. “I think that is the biggest part of it. There are people in our province that are very educated and they need to be the ones at the forefront of this going ahead.”

However, Novotny urged of a need for the province to be “very, very careful” that it does not “let certain individuals into this framework.”

He warned of numerous people who disguise themselves as medical experts, when in reality they are “very uneducated,” saying this can lead to “more harm to society than anything.”

Locally, Novotny said those who are chronically ill and use cannabis for medical purposes need to be taken into consideration as they are the ones who are  changing the stigma around marijuana.

Addressing the addiction issues that plague Prince Albert must also be top of mind while discussing cannabis sales, according to Novotny, who stressed a need to work with health professionals in this area too.

The government is still in the process of finalizing the details for application criteria and permit licensing fees which are expected be announced in the next few weeks. 

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr