By Adam Donnelly

Kamloops Mayor weighs in on province’s proposed pot legislation

May 1, 2018 | 5:03 PM

KAMLOOPS — Last Thursday, the Province released their proposed legislation when it comes to the distribution of recreational pot throughout British Columbia.

The proposed Cannabis Distribution Act establishes the province’s jurisdiction over wholesale distribution of legalized cannabis, while the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act will establish provincial control over the sale, supply and possession of recreational pot, and will give the province control over who is able to sell recreational marijuana. There were also amendments made to the Motor Vehicle Act to address the issue of driving while under the influence of cannabis.  Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian says he applauds the measures the government took when it comes to keeping the public safe once recreational cannabis becomes legal.

“I think the government did a good job, as far as they went,” Christian says. “The issues related to impaired driving and drug-recognition experts with the RCM[P] is good and I think that will keep our streets safe. I’m quite pleased with what they say about access to youth and making sure that persons under the age of 19… don’t get access to recreation marijuana.”

Christian added there were certain areas of the legislation that he feels needed more clarification.

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“I was disappointed that there wasn’t a lot of guidance to municipalities in terms of some of the issues related to licensing, keeping elements of crime out of the business, as well as the whole taxation split.”

The revenue from recreational cannabis sales is an important piece for Christian. With the federal government taking 25% of the tax revenue off the top, that leaves a significant amount of money yet to be divvied up between the province and municipalities; money Christian says he wants to see split evenly, in order to offset the costs municipalities have already taken on.

”These are real costs being incurred and paid for in Kamloops and I don’t think that’s fair,” Christian says. “We’re paying for policing, we’re paying for additional by-law enforcement, property use inspectors, zoning… We have many staff active on these files right now and it’s costing us money. I want to see us recompensed for that kind of outlay.”