Will marijuana lure tourism to Saskatchewan?

With the legalization of cannabis this week, some cities close to the U.S. border are looking at whether some Americans might be lured north.

Nine U.S. states have legalized recreational cannabis, but only a few of them actually border Canada: Alaska, Vermont, Maine and Washington. That leaves the middle of the country wide open.

Jackie Wall, executive director of the Estevan Chamber of Commerce, said conversations about tourism have started. Wall is also a director of the board for the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance (SEDA) and said there have been preliminary discussions at that level.

"It will have to be up to city council and the tourism board to see if they're going to take a look at this as a tourism opportunity," she said. 

There is just one store licensed to open in Estevan and it will not be open for legalization day.

Co-owner John Thomas, who along with his brother obtained four licenses including the one in Estevan, told CBC Saskatchewwan's The Morning Edition that only the Martensville and Battleford locations would be ready for legalization day. 

Wall said there is still a lot of "wait and see" happening, especially with the local store not yet open.

One area she said Canada has a long way to go on is public information. She just returned to Estevan from a trip to Colorado.

"We need to have clear signage and clear information for people coming into our country and the consequences," she said.

Jim Bence, president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Hotel and Hospitality Association, said the hospitality industry has also been discussing tourism implications. But before they can focus on attracting people to Saskatchewan, they need to get a handle on the responsibilities that come with legalization.

"We have quite a responsibility around the responsible service of alcohol, then we should also be responsible for anyone that is impaired," he said. "We have to recognize intoxication, it doesn't matter whether it's from booze or from drugs." 

Bence said it's important from a human resources point-of-view that business owners and servers are properly trained on responsible service of the product.

In 2015, the Saskatchewan government announced mandatory alcohol server intervention training called Serve It Right Saskatchewan (SIRS). As of June 2018, all employees in Saskatchewan involved in the sale and service of alcohol have to complete the program. 

Now the Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (STEC) offers a program called CannaSell. It is mandatory for all owners, managers, staff and security where legal recreational cannabis and cannabis accessories are sold.

Bence said the hospitality industry is in "wait and see" mode because every province has their own regulations around age, production and consumption.

But don't expect hotels to start allowing marijuana smoking in rooms.

"Really where more are settling is it's a no smoking policy. So there will be no smoking in the guest rooms," he said, adding that if there's smoking rooms that do exist, those may increase in popularity again.

"That might be something that hoteliers may look at as way to get a leg up on the competition."

Rural areas present other questions. Smoking in public places isn't entirely illegal like it is in Regina and Saskatoon. Bence said some bar owners are concerned about people coming in with friends to smoke cannabis on their patio and how that could take away from alcohol sales.

"It would be the same as somebody coming to a bar and a patio and bringing their own beverages and then sitting on your patio and drinking it there. So same idea, that wouldn't be allowed."

Bence said he wants to see more retail outlets so people are not driving long distances to buy the product.  He said he's concerned about a possible increase in impaired driving. 

Saskatchewan's government has a zero tolerance approach on drug-impaired driving. New laws that took effect September 1 include immediate licence suspensions, vehicle seizures for up to 60 days and a licence suspension for up to five years if convicted.