Nanaimo school board wants in on talks around regulating legalized marijuana.
Nanaimo school trustees have unanimously voted to write a letter to all municipal governments in the district to ask to be included in discussions about the regulation of legalized marijuana.
The move follows a city council decision to defeat a motion that would have prohibited marijuana dispensaries within a certain distance of daycares, youth centres, playgrounds and schools.
The regional district has also recently talked getting a fair share of the pie when it comes to tax revenues from an impending marijuana legalization bill. The RDN is awaiting word from the provincial and federal governments as it prepares its own regulations.
RELATED: City council defeats motion to keep dispensaries away from schools RELATED: RDN asking for fair share of marijuana tax revenue RELATED: B.C. to consult public on marijuana legalization
Trustee Stephanie Higginson said the school board should be part of any discussion at the regional district or municipal government level about plans for regulating the legalization of cannabis. The federal government intends to legalize marijuana by July 2018, a date she said is quickly approaching, and the province is undergoing consultation about how people want to see legalization carried out in the province.
Higginson said a lot of the responsibility is going to fall on local government and it would behoove the school board to be proactive, rather than reactive, in making sure the needs of students are represented with regulations.
Steve Rae, board chairman, called the motion a great idea.
“We can’t complain about things we don’t participate in. So if we have an opportunity to request we are part of this, I think it’s our obligation,” he said.
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-with files from Greg Sakaki and Karl Yu
