REGINA – Marijuana consumers in Regina are hoping Justin Trudeau sticks to his promise to legalize marijuana.
“I think this should be up front because cannabis users that have been using it for years as a medicine have been really downtrodden and looked upon in a negative light,” said hydroponics grower Darin Wheatley.
In his eyes there’s a good way and a bad way of legislating use though.
“As far as the hydroponic industry, I think it could be a really good thing. But it’s only going to be good if people can grow the plants in their own homes.”
Wheatley supplies people with everything they need to grow weed at home. At the end of the day, he said it’s a question of cost.
“There’s a lot of people on disability that don’t have the money to buy from the licensed producers at their inflated prices. So it’s important for people to be able to grow it on their own so they can afford it.”
Another financial concern could be the type of tax put on cannabis.
“I just hope that they only implement a small kind of a tax, as they would on food sort of thing. And not run with some great big huge marijuana tax added on top of it,” Wheatley said.
Supporters like Donivan Hastings would like to see tax dollars going towards things like health care or infrastructure, similar to Colarado.
“They’re getting their tax revenues, they’re building schools and hospitals and use the money as opposed to it going to illegal gangs,” he said.
The recreational side of the industry could also grow with legalization.
“People who have always wanted to grow the plant, but who might have been afraid to because of the laws against it might all of a sudden be like, “Yea, I wouldn’t mind growing a few plants,” said Wheatley. Come in grab a grow tent and some nutrients and away you grow.”
The local medical dispensary won’t delve into that side of the business though.
“We probably won’t get into the recreational use of it. We’re going to use it for the other dispensaries,” said Hastings. “We like to help patients and make sure they have a decent quality of life.”
We asked the Regina Police Service about their thoughts on legalizing marijuana and they said they won’t comment until they know more about how it will work from a legal perspective.
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