Pot plan needed now: Mayor Dennis O'Keefe wants strategy ahead of legal changes
O'Keefe says cities like St. John's need authority over more than where weed is sold
St. John's city council wants more control over the sale of marijuana inside city limits and says rules have to be nailed down before pot becomes legal in July 2018.
"We need to sit down with the province ... we need them to recognize we have no legislative authority to regulate either the production, the distribution, the sale or the use of marijuana," Mayor Dennis O'Keefe told the St. John's Morning Show on Wednesday.
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O'Keefe has asked for a meeting with Newfoundland and Labrador's Minister of Justice and Public Safety, Andrew Parsons.
"Right now the only thing we have in our control is our zoning bylaws," O'Keefe said, meaning the city can only determine where a marijuana retail store could be located. "We need more than that."
The Trudeau government has said it will end the prohibition on pot on Canada Day of next year, allowing consumers to grow up to four plants at home or buy from a licensed dealer.
Parsons said in March that he and other provincial justice ministers are taking a "wait and see" approach to a measure that is driven by Ottawa.
But O'Keefe said provinces and cities have to be ready because a year can go by quickly.
The mayor said the province can amend the City of St. John's Act to give it more authority, or create new legislation. Or it could introduce policies and procedures specifying the authority towns will have when it comes to pot distribution.
"We really don't know what they have in mind and how the regulation is going to take place," he said.
"It's absolutely crucial and necessary that this be hammered down and in place prior to July. I don't mean the end of June 2018. This has got to be in place prior to the legislation becoming active."
With files from St. John's Morning Show