The Manitoba government’s plan to let people grow cannabis at home comes with a temporary pause on approving some new stores.
Justice Minister Matt Wiebe introduced a bill Wednesday that would lift the province’s ban on home-grown recreational cannabis.
The change would leave Quebec as the only province with a ban. All other provinces leave the matter to federal law, which allows a maximum of four plants per household.
“I would like to emphasize that in implementing these changes, the safety of the public, and especially young people, is of the utmost importance,” Wiebe said.
Before the ban is lifted, the NDP government will develop regulations to regulate homegrown cannabis, with the goal of keeping it out of the hands of minors, Wiebe said.
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The ban was issued by the former Progressive Conservative government and upheld in a court ruling last year. Jesse Lavoie, the activist who fought the ban, has filed an appeal that has yet to be heard. He said he will withdraw the appeal if the government’s bill is passed into law.
The opposition Progressive Conservatives say the proposed change needs a full discussion as it is unclear how home-grown cannabis can be kept away from young people.
“In my experience as a researcher, there have been overdoses of children who have inadvertently ended up in cannabis products,” said Wayne Balcaen, a Tory justice critic and former police officer.
On the retail side, the government is imposing a temporary moratorium on new licenses in urban areas for so-called ‘controlled access’ shops selling cannabis.
Unlike standalone stores that only admit adults, controlled-entry outlets include convenience stores and gas stations that are open to all ages but place cannabis products out of reach of customers.
There are already 11 such outlets in urban areas, and the government said it wants to take time to assess whether adding more stores is necessary and socially responsible.
“We are wondering if we should add more of these locations, especially in urban areas,” said Glen Simard, Minister of Liquor and Lotteries.
The pause was welcomed by High Tide Inc., which operates standalone stores under the Canna Cabana brand.
“These (controlled access) licenses were intended to provide access to legal cannabis in rural communities without an established legal cannabis store,” Raj Grover, the company’s CEO, said in a statement.
“We hope the six-month review will help establish important guardrails to ensure these licenses are limited to underserved communities only.”
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