Next phase in provincial pot legislation begins

The P.E.I. government is one step closer to developing cannabis legislation, following the end of a public and stakeholder survey that sought input from Islanders about the legalization of marijuana.

The public survey was launched in Augustand closed at the end of September and asked about things such as legal age, where to sell it,use in public andat-home grow ops.

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The province says it received about 3,000 responses.

Drafting legislative changes, forming awareness campaign

Thesurvey was another movetowarddrafting provincial legislation for the federal government's move to legalize cannabis beginning July 1, 2018.

The province's next step will be toanalyze the survey responsesand eventually share a summary of what was heard.

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It will be up to the provinces tocontrol legislation around such things as distribution, public consumption and the retail model, although they will be able to enact tougher legislation than that of the federal government for things like impaired driving and regulatory compliance.

The province's webpage devoted tocannabis legislationshows the provincewill focus on:

• "Limiting the illegal market for cannabis.
• Keeping cannabis out of the hands of children and youth.
• Protecting public health.
• Promoting safety on roads, in workplaces and in public spaces."

During the winter,the plan is to take the responses from Islanders and stakeholders and present draft legislationto the assemblyin the spring.

A public awareness campaign is expected to follow.

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