The Future Is Hazy For Pot Legalization In The City

PRINCE GEORGE – The provincial government announced new regulations for the use and sale of non-medical marijuana yesterday, but there is still a lot to be done before the federal government legalizes the drug this July. The sale of marijuana will be done in private and government-run stores, but those stores will need approval by local government. That gives the City of Prince George just five months to develop new bylaws.  “Our bylaws will be specific to business licensing, the location of where we want the sale of non-medical cannabis,” said Mayor, Lyn Hall, “we’re still waiting to see what the split is between the province and municipalities, there’s still a number of things we need to do.” The Province has not announced how each municipality will benefit from the tax generated from the sale of marijuana. Hall added the City will begin work on those new bylaws in the coming weeks.

Local hemp shop owner, Ginny Burnett, hopes the city will treat pot shops like any other business.  “I’m hoping they’re not going to charge an arm and a leg for someone to have a business license,” said Burnett, “I don’t want them to make it so you have to be 10 miles from a school, and you’ve got to be way in the industrial area, I think it should be treated like any business that’s applying.”

But MLA Mike Morris said that kind of regulation should have been included in the NDP government’s announcement Monday. “I think the province should have come out very strong in saying that there needs to be a kilometre setback to protect the young kids. It’s still a massive work in progress, and I understand that, but I think they should have done more.”

Smoking marijuana in public will be prohibited in areas where kids frequent such as parks and beaches, but for now, it’s up to municipalities to decide where those retailers will be located.