The path to regulatory change is a long and arduous one. Cannabis consumption, by far, is no exception. We are reaching the pinnacle of our advocacy over the last 12 months, and want to take you on a historical journey of what we’ve been doing.
Summer 2022
We began engaging City Council in an unofficial manner, on the idea of creating zoning and licensing for cannabis consumption and therapeutic usage.
August 2022
We published our briefing document on Edmonton as a destination for cannabis tourism.
We followed that up quickly, with a briefing on how Canada can lead the world as a cannabis tourism destination as well.
September 2022
We had our first meeting with City of Edmonton staff – beginning with the Deputy City Manager of Urban Planning and Economy.
October 2022
Councillor Janz graciously hosted a roundtable meeting for us, with multiple stakeholders, as outlined on our blog and on Councillor Janz’s as well.
November 2022
We published our letter to the Mayor of Edmonton and City Council on the development of zoning and licensing for cannabis consumption and therapeutic usage.
January 2023
We began meeting with all Edmonton City Councillors one-on-one, discussing cannabis consumption. The goal was to give each Councillor the opportunity to have candid conversation with us about their thoughts and comments on the proposed initiative. We listened and provided feedback as required.
We continued meetings with City of Edmonton staff – including the Nighttime Economy Strategy team.
Stephanie attended Lift Expo Vancouver, and participated on a panel session about cannabis tourism. She was also featured at the CertiCraft booth.
Stephanie then attended GoWest23 Edmonton, and spoke about the cannabis event space and regulatory challenges. She was also featured on the GO WEST podcast.
We followed that up with an invite only cannabis dinner geared toward tourism industry stakeholders, all detailed here.
Nathan was interviewed on 630 CHED mornings with Daryl McIntyre and Chelsea Bird.
We were also the feature of 2 articles: one by CBC and one by Stratcann.
February 2023
We continue meetings with Edmonton City Councillors and City of Edmonton staff.
Nathan was interviewed by J’Lyn Nye on 630 CHED and by Vinesh Pratap on Global News Morning Edition, which you can view here.
March 2023
We continued meetings with Edmonton City Councillors and City of Edmonton staff – including the City Manager.
Nathan was featured on CertiCraft’s State of Craft podcast.
April 2023
We continued meetings with Edmonton City Councillors and City of Edmonton staff.
We engaged with the UCP and NDP in Alberta on cannabis consumption and therapeutic usage.
May 2023
Nathan was featured on Cannabis Life Network.
Nathan was interviewed on CBC Radio Active with Jessica Ng and Min Dhariwal.
Nathan was featured in the Edmonton Journal, on the implementation of cannabis food and drink in Edmonton.
Nathan was featured in CBC Edmonton News (starting at 12:16) and Global News Hour (starting at 12:41).
Nathan was interviewed by Grow Opportunity magazine.
We launched our “mythbusters series”, to highlight how cannabis is often misattributed to crime. Our 3-part series is available here, here, and here.
Alongside We Know Training, we announced the launch of Canada’s first responsible training program for cannabis.
Stephanie and Ivan Ross attended Grow Up Conference Edmonton to speak about cannabis tourism and other items. City of Edmonton Councillor Michael Janz was alongside Steph at the cannabis tourism panel.
June 2023
Ivan Ross moderated a panel at Lift Expo Toronto on cannabis tourism.
Alongside Instant Risk Coverage and WMB Specialty, we announced the launch of Canada’s first innovative cannabis event insurance.
Nathan was interviewed by CityNews.
There is plenty more to come, as we continue to advocate for consumption spaces in Edmonton and beyond. There are many more activities scheduled for June 20 and onward. If things go the way we are hoping and expecting, there will be plenty of opportunity for industry folk in the near future.
