***Original published in South Mountain Press, Nov 2, 2018***
What’s the Local Buzz with Marijuana?
Canada embarked on a brave, new path last week with the legalization of cannabis thus becoming the first major country in the world to do so. So what if anything has changed in the local area during these first heady days after close to a century of ‘weed’ prohibition?
Despite the ease of ordering online, it is important to note that it will be at least a year until marijuana edibles become legal in Canada. Meanwhile, it is legal to create your own with your combustible buds and oils.
At first blush, there has been very little buzz within the local RMs and First Nations over legalizing cannabis. RMs such as Minto-Odanah and Rosedale were pro-active and the councils had voted to prohibit the sale of cannabis. But under the Province’s ‘The Safe and Responsible Retailing of Cannabis Act’, councils should hold plebiscites to either prohibit or repeal the prohibition of the local sale of cannabis within the municipality. They have until January 1, 2022 to pick a plebiscite date if they choose to hold one and thereafter any general vote on the matter can be held during regular municipal voting days.
When contacted, the Chief Administrative Officer of Minto-Odanah says that now that regulations on cannabis have been enacted, the Council has backed off from their earlier stance on the subject. There are no plans to hold a plebiscite for or against and in their opinion if anything was going to happen regarding sales, nearby Minnedosa would be the likely spot for a retail outlet.
Remarkably, there has been very little discussion over this contentious subject especially in light of the Municipal election season. At the Candidate forums for Yellowhead and Harrison Park, there was a grand total of one question asked about cannabis. Neither of those RMs have changed their policies other than looking at some amendments to their workplace rules.
Even queries from businesses regarding licensing to sell in a particular RM have been almost non-existent. According to Councilor Don Huisman of Clanwilliam-Erickson, the Council there says, ‘We won’t oppose an outlet in the community. In fact a lot was bought in town specifically as a dispensary.’ Considering the licensing hoops retail stores have to jump through, it might be awhile before Erickson residents see a brick and mortar marijuana shop in town.
Hamiota, Oakview and Rossburn RMs have not seen much interest for or against marijuana from their residents. In general, these RMs will just amend their policies to reflect the legalization. The general approach will be with regards to health and safety it will be treated like smoking, with regards to intoxication it will be treated as drinking.
This is the same approach that Rolling River and Keeseekoowenin First Nations are planning to take in their jurisdictions. For example, in Rolling River, there are already setback zones for smoking cigarettes in certain areas, so marijuana smoking will be treated the same. As for cultural considerations, marijuana does not have any importance to their traditions unlike tobacco.
Paul Tarleton, a spokesman for Riding Mountain National Park, had this to say about their response to legalization. “We want to give the Park’s visitors the best possible experience. Rules and regulations with respect to cannabis use in Federal parks will in general reflect those of the province they are in. For Riding Mountain, we will basically treat marijuana use similar to that of alcohol consumption.”
For example, at the Clear Lake campground, marijuana use will cease in accordance with alcohol use between the hours of 11:00 pm to 7:00 am. No marijuana use will be allowed in public areas or on hiking trails. For people who transgress, both RCMP officers and Park Staff are authorized to ticket offenders.
The Park differs from provincial parks because the latter will be a no-go zone for pot use. As Paul explained, their approach takes into account that cannabis is a legal substance that people would be able to use in their own home. While camping, people are in their residence and as long as they enjoy themselves responsibly, then there should not be an issue. Down the line, the Park will monitor how their policies work out and they will adjust accordingly and as the province dictates.
Although Paul knew of no immediate plans for any marijuana outlets in the town of Wasagaming, he knew of no reason why pot could not be sold in the Park if the business had the proper certification through the province to sell the substance.
So officially, there were no seismic shifts in the local area with regards to cannabis legalization. Unofficially, the status quo regarding black market sales and supply to local users probably has not changed substantially either.
You would be particularly naïve to think that ‘weed’ has not already been in use by a significant portion of the local population. Local illegal pot prices are about $5 per joint while the few legal Manitoba outlets are selling their marijuana for closer to $12 for the same amount.
But as licensing and supply issues gradually shake out, new stores will slowly start opening up and lower prices should result. As time goes by, we will see how levels of use respond to the new, legal availability and if it will be effective at choking out the black market supply chain.
A full list of the rules and regulations related to cannabis in Manitoba can be accessed through the website: https://www.gov.mb.ca/cannabis/index.html
Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.