Clearview is cannabis friendly
Recreational marijuana is now legal in Canada. As of October 17, consumers 19 or older are able to consume, purchase, and grow recreational cannabis.
It won’t be sold legally in retail locations until April 1. Until then, it is sold through online platforms operated by the Ontario Cannabis Store.
Legalization is a result of federal legislation but decisions are also being made at the provincial level and should soon be addressed at the council table.
The province is working on its laws about smoking in public places, which are expected to be the same as the rules around smoking tobacco.
According to information distributed to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the government is introducing legislation that, if enacted, would create a tightly regulated licensing model and regulatory framework for private retail. Municipalities will have until Jan. 22 to pass a council resolution to opt out of allowing retail stores.
Clearview has yet to discuss whether or not it will take advantage of that option and at this point, it won’t be discussed until after the municipal election on Monday.
Some candidates have said they support opting out in order to keep options open because while they can always opt back in, they cannot opt out later on.
Proposed legislation, if enacted, would support this direction with the intent of enabling the AGCO to begin to accept applications for retail in December 2018.
It would come as a surprise if Clearview, a municipality that has fully embraced the production of medicinal cannabis at two facilities within its borders, would opt out of the game at this point.
The addition of cannabis retail can be considered a form of much needed economic development, something that has been getting a lot of airtime during this election campaign.
With the proper controls and regulation, retailing cannabis could be similar to selling alcohol at agency stores, something that is relatively new to Ontario grocery and convenience stores but appears to have rolled out seamlessly.
The health unit is recommending the control of availability and accessibility through zoning, licensing, hours of sales, which would create more work for a municipality but would also create revenue.
There is also talk of making sure municipalities get a portion of the cannabis excise tax that is being charged on all recreational and medicinal cannabis.
Clearview Township should be a part of this massive shift in thinking.
Cannabis is already in the community. According to AMO, 19 per cent of Ontario students in Grade 7-12 reported using cannabis in 2017.
Revenues from municipal cannabis could be used to fund innovative programming to reduce youth cannabis and illicit substance consumption. It’s like taxing the legal users to curb illegal and harmful consumption by teens and it could prove to be a solution where there was none before.
