In a debate about how relevant the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is to rural communities, County of Barrhead Coun. Darrell Troock said the issue of cannabis, except for its cultivation, had little relevance here.
We disagree.
Cannabis sales and where it is allowed to be consumed is just as relevant in small communities as it is in urban centres.
Yet, town and county councillors still haven’t had a meaningful discussion on the topic. At least in public.
To be fair, town councillors have debated in-camera the terms of which a retail outlet can open, as well as brief public discussion during their Sept. 11 meeting when they gave first reading to Bylaw 08-2018 and set a public hearing date for Oct. 9, which will formalize those terms. But for the most part, there has been very little debate.
We also recognize that county councillors have discussed both the medical marijuana and industrial hemp industries numerous times.
However, what has been noticeably absent is a discussion on whether or not the two municipalities will allow cannabis consumption on their property.
Failure to do so by default means that councillors agree with Alberta’s Cannabis Framework, which basically puts public cannabis usage in the same category as smoking and vaping.
Which basically means cannabis consumption will be legal in all public areas with a few noticeable exceptions, such as on hospital property, playgrounds, sports fields, skateparks and splash parks.
In the effort to be fully transparent we are on the record that although we support the use of medical marijuana, as well as the cultivation of industrial hemp we are against the federal government’s decision to legalize recreational, or adult-use marijuana.
That being said whether or not our municipal councillors agree with legalization, they need to still have the discussion about where it will be sold and where, if at all, it can be consumed in public.
Town councillors at least started the process with a discussion on cannabis retail outlet regulations and we hope a debate on public consumption will come soon, but on the county side it looks like they don’t believe the conversation is necessary.
Just because someone lives in a rural community doesn’t mean they are immune to these issues. Yes, it is true that the odds of someone deciding they want to open a retail cannabis outlet in Neerlandia, for the sake of argument, is remote, but it is possible and if someone does, the regulations need to be in place. On the consumption side, the debate isn’t as theoretical. It is almost a certainty that at a county park, campground, community hall, or a sponsored event, that someone is going to want to toke up. The question is how will the county deal with it? It’s a question they need to have an answer for.
