Cannabis Legalization Briefing

On October 17, 2018, recreational cannabis will become legal in Canada. As residents can imagine, this will make an impact on all levels of government; from municipalities through to the Federal government, each level has distinct responsibilities in ensuring that the legalization of recreational cannabis is implemented with consideration to community safety, health, and economic opportunity.

This CivicSend serves as a briefing for some of the decisions that have been made, complete with links to further information.

Federal Government

The Cannabis Act (Bill C45)

Until October 17, 2018, it remains illegal to buy, possess or use cannabis for anything other than authorized medical or research purposes.

The Cannabis Act sets down many of the core regulations, including:

Criminal Code framework
minimum age limit of 18
possession limits and home cultivation
advertisement/packaging
medical use and regulation
production

Learn more on the Government of Canada website, available here.

The Cannabis Act received Royal Assent, and will come into effect October 17, 2018

Provincial Government

Alberta Cannabis Framework and Legislation (Bill 26 Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Regulation)

Alberta has maintained many of the Federal regulations, including

legal minimum age
personal possession limits

The Province has laid out their framework for retail. This includes:

where you can buy cannabis
what stores can sell cannabis
minimum standards for location of cannabis retailers

Learn more on the Province of Alberta website, available here.

Bill 26: An Act to Control and Regulate Cannabis received Royal Assent December 15, 2017

Municipal Government

Municipalities play an important role in two distinct areas: The public consumption of cannabis, and the local development regulations. In Hinton, these areas have been managed through a series of pieces of legislation:

LUB Amendment 1088-6, Business License Bylaw 1126
This amendment covers development and usage details, including:

business license, license conditions and fees
taxation
development permits and application processes
local zoning and density
building standards
personal cultivation requirements

One important aspect of 1088-6 is Cannabis Retail setbacks. Learn more in the table below from the Redlined LUB Changes document presented to Council.

*The Development Authority shall not grant a Variance to reduce the separation distance by more than 20 m, in compliance with Section 3-82 of the Bylaw.

**No Variance shall be granted to Government Buildings that provide addiction, medical, and/or mental health services. Separation distance shall remain at a 100 m separation.

For further information, visit Planning and Development and/or view the LUB, available here.

LUB Amendment 1088-6 passed September 18, 2018. Business License Bylaw 1126 passed on September 11, 2018

Bylaw 1125 Cannabis Public Consumption

Bylaw 1125 addresses local constraints surrounding personal consumption, possession, and smoking, including:

a prohibition on consuming cannabis in public
smoking prohibited signage design

Bylaw 1125 Cannabis Public Consumption passed on October 2, 2018

Looking to learn more? Visit Hinton.ca/Cannabis, where we've uploaded relevant documents and listed links to further information from the Federal and Provincial Governments.