Calgary is going to be putting in place rules, similar to those already in Vancouver and Toronto, that will seek to limit and severely control where potential cannabis counseling centres can be established within the city. The Calgary rules stipulate that centers will need to apply for a development permit, allowing nearby residents an opportunity if they need in order to change their location. In Vancouver, Toronto, and other areas, there are strict rules in place for where dispensaries can be located; such as limiting how closely they are located to schools and so on.
One of the rules for the cannabis counseling centres in Calgary is that they will not be able to be within 150 meters of a school. In Vancouver, some dispensaries had already been operating for decades without incident, when the city suddenly decided to introduce new rules about how close those businesses could be located to schools and other community type centers. Many have been forced to shut down, while others are continuing to battle against the limitations in court. For many within the cannabis community, they don’t see the sense in restricting a cannabis business from operating a certain distance away from schools.
The Calgary council passed the motion 10 to 3, and councilor Shane Keating says that the rules and regulations are a good starting point and that changes could be made if necessary. Councilor Evan Woolley warned of the cannabis markets in Vancouver and Toronto, saying that things got “out of control” in those cities with cannabis because the police made a decision not to enforce the laws. Perhaps those police preferred to spend their valuable resources on crimes that actually involved victims? And by the “out of control” situation in Vancouver and Toronto, he means the abundance of dispensary businesses that are operational.