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Seeing through the haze

Perhaps fittingly appropriate, the legalization of cannabis finished its lackadaisical trip through the House of Commons last week.

Perhaps fittingly appropriate, the legalization of cannabis finished its lackadaisical trip through the House of Commons last week. While people won't be able to buy weed for Canada Day as the federal government had originally hoped, they will be filling their bongs - at least legally - by October. Ottawa projects legal weed, which is expected to sell at around $10 per gram all in, to generate around $400 million annually in tax revenue. The provinces, which are bearing the largest burdens of legalization, including licensing and enforcement, will share approximately $300 million or 75 per cent of the earnings. The federal government has also capped its take at $100 million. Doled out on a per capita basis, Alberta will receive between $23 and $40 million from cannabis sales. Out of a $56 billion budget, that equates to a family dinner at McDonald's. Unfortunately, the Alberta government isn't rushing out for its McHappy Meals. According to Premier Rachel Notley and Finance Minister Joe Ceci, the province will likely lose money on legalization - at least in the first year or two – as new administrative and enforcement tools are put into place. There is also the question as to what the municipalities will receive, considering much of the regulatory and zoning work for legal weed sales have been delegated to the towns and cities. Calgary and Edmonton expect that will cost each city $10 million, which wouldn't leave much for other communities and likely means municipal budgets will also see a loss on the ledger. The Town of Cochrane doesn't have a cost projection, but doesn't expect administration costs to rise and said "municipal Enforcement will monitor and assess the need for additional officers as we move forward. The province and the feds are maintaining the new law is not about taxation and revenue generation but public safety, which is why the price of legal weed is targeted so low in hopes of undercutting the black market. However, according to various studies, legal weed will still be around $3 more a gram than the illegal product. The hope is consumers will choose a "safer" regulated product over the illegal source that also potentially finances crime. Both levels of government are also hopeful the new laws and regulations will keep cannabis away from children, an assertion that will take time to prove and will likely be very difficult to enforce. The Town of Cochrane is preparing for legalization. With its zoning structure in place, it has begun to look at the rules governing  consumption, which will be debated during the July 9 council meeting. Public consultation on the issue wrapped up last week. The City of Calgary has decided to ban all public consultation of cannabis but has made room for festivals and special events to apply for an exemption while also designating some park spaces as smoke friendly. Whatever Cochrane council decides, it will hopefully align with the feedback from the public consultations and not create a system that will be difficult and costly to enforce. It really doesn't make sense to spend more to police something when it is legal compared to when it wasn't. (We apologize the newspaper version of this editorial did not reflect the change in policy by the City of Calgary in terms of festival and park spaces.)

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