Solicitor
General Mike Farnworth tabled three bills in the legislature that will
amend different B.C. laws to pave the way for legal recreational
cannabis later this year. Ottawa had said legalization could occur by
July 1 but it now appears likely to be delayed beyond that date. B.C.
said it expects to open its first government-operated retail store by
late summer, followed by online sales.
“This bill represents a
balanced response to the federal government’s decision to legalize
non-medical cannabis,” said Farnworth.
The legislation formalizes many of the details the B.C. government had indicated in February
as it began grappling with the cannabis issue. They include a legal
purchase age of at least 19, stand-alone public and private cannabis
stores, which are not allowed to sell alcohol or tobacco alongside the
cannabis, a provincial distribution network handled by the Liquor
Distribution Branch and a personal possession limit of 30 grams for
recreational use.
Language in the legislation that protects small
industry and allows it to operate alongside larger licensed producers
was welcomed by Deepak Anand, vice-president of business development and
government relations for Cannabis Compliance Inc.
Anand,
whose consulting firm provided the government with input on the
legislation, said he supports provisions that incentivize people to
transition from the illicit to legal market, and which allow B.C. to
carry on that process for months after federal legalization.
“I
think that the existing dispensaries are going to need more time to
transition into the legal system and the B.C. LDB (liquor distribution
branch) is going to need time to stock its shelves, so this provision
allows them to extend that without criminalizing people that are
currently operating dispensaries,” he said.
Cannabis lawyer Kirk
Tousaw said he has concerns with how the government plans to warehouse
and then distribute cannabis, which he said will quickly degrade
product, particularly in flower form. He believes the province will need
to revisit this issue but said that, overall, the legislation mostly
shows that the government is on the right track.
“It continues to
be a very positive sign — both in the legislation and the public
comments around it — that the province is well aware of the need to
transition the existing marketplace into the legal arena,” he said.
Still,
Tousaw said, government continues to treat cannabis in a way that is
more restrictive than alcohol, “which is just not empirically sound.”
Cannabis
activist Dana Larsen said he believes that the legislation is “unduly
punitive” relative to the treatment of alcohol, unfairly criminalizing
cannabis users.
He said B.C. has done a better job with its
legislation than most other provinces but “it would be very different”
if he had written it.
“It’s reflective of the federal legislation,
so all they’re doing is adding more curtailments around it,” he said.
“They’re not pushing to open anything up or to challenge any of the
federal legislation.”
Larsen said he wants parents to be allowed
to provide their own children with a controlled amount of cannabis in
the privacy of their home without the risk of fines or jail time. He
said rules around smoking and vaping in public are too restrictive,
particularly when people have limited access to outdoor property. He
believes an allowance for vapour lounges would address part of this
concern.
Larsen criticized language in the legislation that
requires those who grow a federally-proposed four plants per household
to ensure the plants aren’t visible from a public place, which likely
means no sun-grown cannabis for apartment and condo dwellers, as well as
the homeless.
Vancouver councillor Kerry Jang, who co-chaired the
B.C. government’s legalization task force and sits on the Union of B.C.
Municipalities’ executive, said he was pleased with a provision that
any operator must first get approval from the local town or city council
before gaining a provincial permit.
Jang said the legislation
drew heavily on the experiences of Vancouver and Victoria, which have
municipal police forces and allow dispensaries, and Surrey, which is
policed by RCMP and shut dispensaries down.
He believes the
proposed fines and jail terms for non-compliance will be effective in
removing existing dispensaries which have failed to comply with local
bylaws, while allowing “good operators” to stay.
“It takes all the
effort and troubles, really, out of the hands of municipalities,” he
said. “It’s everything that we’re looking for and more. (We’re) very
pleased with it.”
The tax rates are being set by Ottawa. B.C. is
still considering what price to sell cannabis for, and Farnworth said
that must be carefully set.
“The pricing is still being worked on
with the Ministry of Finance,” he said. “We are looking at all aspects
of that including the PST. We’re mindful the price needs to reflect the
fact that one of the key elements of legalization is to reduce the
influence of organized crime. We’ve also learned from other
jurisdictions if the tax rate is too high you just drive people to the
black market.”
Private operators are going to have to undergo
background checks, but Farnworth said “minor offences” related to
cannabis in the past won’t necessarily disqualify a person from being
able to operate a retail store.
“Minor offences are not going to
prevent you from applying,” he said. “But certainly a serious criminal
offence such as trafficking will.”
“In terms of existing stores
I’ve said they are free to apply but there’s no guarantee they will get a
licence,” Farnworth added. “They will be treated like any other
application.”
If a currently-operating cannabis store tries to
remain operational without obtaining a B.C. permit, they will face
search and seizure by provincial officials with fines of twice the
amount of the retail value of the cannabis found and sold in the store.
Minors
will face fines up to $2,000 if caught with pot. Those found
intoxicated in public, or who have exceeded the amount they can carry or
grow, or intoxicated behind the wheel of a car, will also face fines up
to $5,000 the first time or $10,000 on second offences, with potential
jail ranging from three to six months.
How B.C. police will test
drivers for impairment by drug use behind the wheel is also an unsettled
point. Farnworth said he hopes Ottawa will unveil technology it
believes can accurately test a person’s blood content.
“It’s
something we believe needs to be communicated with the provinces ASAP,”
he said. “The feds have told us there is technology they are confident
in, but we have yet to know what exactly it is.”
Edible products
also remain in limbo and not currently allowed in stores. However,
Farnworth said he expects that issue to be tackled by the federal
government soon.
B.C. is not worried there won’t be enough product available to put on the shelves of stores.
“We’re
confident there will be enough supply available,” said Farnworth. “I am
confident we will have a significant range of product.”
More details from the legislation:
•
A ban on smoking cannabis near children, including on school grounds,
beaches, playgrounds, health facilities, restaurants/patios, provincial
regional and municipal parks, common areas of apartment buildings,
condos and college dorms, skate parks, sports fields and playgrounds, as
well as inside vehicles, buses, trains, taxis or on ferries. Outside of
this, municipal rules for public smoking and vaping tobacco will apply
to cannabis, though municipalities may also decide to limit cannabis
separately from tobacco as well.
• A limit of four plants grown per household, but they are not allowed to be visible from public spaces off the property.
• The power for strata councils and landlords to forbid growing plants inside condos and apartment buildings.
• A registration process for businesses that want licenses, including shops already in operation.
•
A ban on new drivers in ICBC’s graduated licensing program from having
any THC in their system, or using cannabis before driving.
•
A new 90-day administrative driving penalty for those who are affected
by drugs while driving, based on “analysis of a bodily substance or an
evaluation by a specially trained drug recognition expert.”
• A new series of cannabis-related offences with fines ranging from $2,000 to $100,000 and jail time of three to 12 months.
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