Nunavut Governments Looks to Fine Tune its Cannabis Act This Sitting

Article by Beth Brown, CBC News

Nunavut’s Legislative Assembly will reconvene Tuesday in Iqaluit for nearly four weeks. During that time cabinet has plans to talk about cannabis regulation.

Nunavut’s Cannabis Act passed in June of 2018, before the federal government legalized cannabis that fall. But the act only allows for online sales of cannabis.

This sitting, the government will introduce amendments to that legislation that would regulate the supply and sale of cannabis by in-store retailers.

The Cannabis Act already allows the government to approve licences for retailers, and it did put out a request for “expressions of interest” from vendors and suppliers.

But House leader and Minister Elisapee Sheutiapik said the government didn’t have the time it needed to finish making plans for retail stores and suppliers before the federal government legalized cannabis in Canada.

“There was a lot of fast tracking going on,” Sheutiapik said.

To make those regulations more specific the government will table Bill 42, an Act to Amend the Cannabis Act, this sitting.

“We were not ready to decide at that time, or have enough information whether or not Nunavut would be ready then to have retail,” she said. “Now this act will allow potentially … for licensed cannabis retail locations.”

Nunavut has some of the highest rates of cannabis use in Canada.

Read the full article here.