The City of Calgary will treat its future legal cannabis retailers like liquor stores when it comes to the distance they must be from each other and schools, according to a vote by city council Thursday afternoon.
Cannabis retailers must be at least 300 metres from each other and 150 metres away from schools, according to the bylaw passed Thursday.
These are the same rules that the city’s liquor stores face, according to Mayor Naheed Nenshi.
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A number of amendments put forth by councillors during the discussion failed to pass. They would have increased the distances and added further restrictions.
Ward 13 Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart proposed that cannabis stores be 400 metres from each other, 300 metres from schools and childcare centres and 100 metres from liquor stores.
Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra suggested that cannabis businesses be at least 300 metres from payday loan shops and pawn stores. Ward 2 Coun. Joe Magliocca also proposed the businesses be 150 metres from places of worship. City officials were instructed to investigate the potential impact.
After the bylaw passed, Mayor Nenshi told reporters that council’s job is to strike the right balance between allowing people to access cannabis once its legal, while still being responsible.
“We don’t allow liquor stores on every street corner; it’s a totally a legal business,“ Nenshi said Thursday afternoon.
“I think council appropriately stuck the right balance today.”