Claresholm town council approves cannabis regulations
By Rob Vogt, Local Press Writer
The impending legalization of cannabis in two weeks, is compelling municipalities to create rules regulating cannabis production and sale.
At its Sept. 24 meeting, Claresholm town council gave the final two readings to a set of amendments to the town’s land-use bylaw governing cannabis.
A public hearing was held earlier in the meeting, where Gavin Scott of the Oldman River Regional Services Commission, explained the changes feedback on the amendments was gathered.
One addition made was including Oct. 17 as the effective date of the legalization of cannabis.
The other amendments are in line with the Alberta Cannabis Act and the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, who is the provincial body who issue cannabis licences, similar to liquor stores.
The changes revise the existing rules governing medical marijuana production facilities to include cannabis and add a new section on retail cannabis stores.
Retail cannabis stores will be a discretionary use in the retail commercial; highway commercial; industrial; and service industrial districts.
That means any application will be reviewed for approval by the Municipal Planning Commission. The process also involves notifying for comment adjacent landowners, that is the neighbours, about any proposed retail cannabis store.
The regulations for a cannabis production facility include: having a licence issued by Health Canada; the development being fully enclosed; there is no outdoor area for storage of goods, materials or supplies; there must be equipment designed to remove odours from the air where it is discharged from the building; and there must be a minimum 75-metre setback from a residential or public institutional district.
The regulations for a retail cannabis store include: a licence from the Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission; a Town of Claresholm business licence; hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily; and a setback of a minimum 100 metres from a public school, provincial health facility, or day care/child care facility.