Groups react to pot regulation plans ahead of legalization in BC

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As the provincial government lays out its plans for pot regulation come legalization this July, unionized workers say they’re disappointed sales won’t be allowed inside liquor stores — yet.

Paul Finch with the British Columbia Government and Service Employees’ Union says research has been done suggesting it’s perfectly safe to sell liquor and marijuana in the same place, but he understands the need to keep it out of the hands of anyone under 19.

“I think we also want to keep alcohol away from children as much as we can,” he tells NEWS 1130. “Age appropriate, safe, controlled environment’s are a great way to do that. We want to stress the need for evidence-based policy, but again, we respect the government’s caution on this and their desire to approach the new retail market slowly.”

However, he’s holding out hope that’s still possible once concerns are addressed. “We understand this is a newly emerging market for them and they’re proceeding with some degree of caution. We hope that those principles and –in particular– the age-appropriate, safe, controlled environments that we provide, the tested track record in BC’s liquor stores will be seen to be an appropriate model and in the meantime, we hope there is some hope that adjacent stores providing that same model of liquor stores will be able to provide that retail service.”

Meanwhile, the group representing some private liquor stores says it’s disappointed with the announcement.

“I mean we thought that it was probably the safest, most responsible, and most efficient way of getting these products out to British Columbians given that it’s a controlled substance that you want sold in an age-controlled environment,” says Able BC’s Jeff Guignard.

But, he says the group is still committed to working with municipal partners to help build the government properly.

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Guignard sees the process of regulation after legalization as one that can be worked on as the province moves forward. “I think when the provincial government starts to see our members out there operating stores in communities around the province, and when we start to show communities that we can transfer our experience in the retail side over to cannabis retail, that there’ll probably be some changes.”

While some health advocates have raised concerns about co-locating cannabis and alcohol, Guignard says there’s no evidence to suggests it would lead to co-use.

“In fact the economic data of this stage shows very clearly that the two things are strong substitutes. So if you walk into a store with $20 you’re not spending $10 on each, you’re spending 20 on one or the other.”

There has also been a lot of discussion around the potential for organized crime getting involved. On that subject, Guignard suggests Able BC members are well-positioned to keep pot away from that element. “The only challenges I see with the government’s framework right now by leaving so much of this up to the municipalities –and we deeply respect the role municipalities have in ensuring things are run according to their own preferences. But by doing that, there are some communities that just don’t want cannabis retail locations opened, whereas there are others that do. So you can see if a community decides not to have a legal cannabis store, their citizens are going to continue to source it from where they’re getting it now which is the black market.”

New regulations will allow landlords and strata councils to restrict or prohibit non-medical cannabis smoking and cultivation at tenanted and strata properties.

However, some groups are still voicing concerns about what could happen once marijuana is legalized come July.

David Hutniak, who is the CEO of Landlord BC says smoking, in general, is frowned upon by many owners and tenants.

“We’ve always covered off smoking as an exclusion a prospective tenant would need to agree with,” he explains. “Increasingly, we’re seeing entire buildings be smoke-free whether it’s tobacco or cannabis. From that perspective, we feel that we’re going to be successful in ensuring that if a building is intended to be smoke-free, there’s not going to be any cannabis smoked in that building as well.”

On the topic of allowing tenants to grow marijuana, Hutniak cites a variety of issues.

“There was also the real concern around being able to insure your property, and certainly for some people who rent out entire homes, their mortgage holders were looking at this less than favourably.”

But it ultimately comes down to health and safety. “Growing it produces additional humidity. How it’s ultimately cultivated tends to be not overly sophisticated. It’s dried in the oven.”

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