New entrepreneur Shaun Baid is feeling excited about his prospects these days. Mr. Baid, a Calgary accountant who was laid off last year amid the energy sector downturn, is now working with three partners to open a cannabis retail store.

“It’s super exciting times, all across the country, but especially here in Alberta,” said Mr. Baid, chief financial officer of Kush Collective. “It feels like Alberta is where this whole gold rush is going to happen.”

That’s because Alberta’s NDP government has adopted a private model for cannabis retailers, following in the footsteps of the province’s private liquor retail model. (Online cannabis sales will be government-run in Alberta.)

While a recent court ruling has given some relief to plan sponsors concerned about having an obligation cover medical marijuana under their benefits plans, they still face a number of questions with legalization of the recreational version of the drug coming fast.

That was a key message from Loretta Bouwmeester, a partner at Mathews Dinsdale & Clark LLP, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s Calgary Benefits Summit last week.

“Do you have to cover it? The answer is no. It’s a benefit that you can add on,” Bouwmeester told participants at the event at Calgary’s Fairmont Palliser hotel last Tuesday.

Recreational cannabis use to be prohibited in Churchill Square, Fort Edmonton Park, Edmonton Valley Zoo.

City councillors are grappling with where, when and how people use recreational cannabis in public spaces in Edmonton.

"It's a real challenge, balancing the rights and interests of people," says Coun. Scott McKeen. "We have to get our regulations at an appropriate level." 

Provincial regulations already restrict smoking or vaping cannabis in the same way as tobacco, though they further limit use around children and youth. 

The long list of no-toke zones under consideration include:

Whitecourt Town council discussed land-use regulations regarding cannabis legalization during its policies and priorities meeting on May 22.

Council voted 5-1 to proceed with the recommendations to add the word “cannabis” for Retail – General and Retail – Hilltop Commercial in the land-use bylaw. The Town will also be hosting a public hearing for these specific changes.

The meeting dealt with cannabis regulations for retail, production facilities and medical offices. Council will address public consumption at a later date.

Retail

With the legalization of cannabis expected to happen later this year, a local organization is already planning a conference for next year to help people navigate the new industry.

Sun City Productions is hosting the first ever Cannabis and Hemp Expo May 3rd and 4th, 2019 at the Cypress Centre.

The event will feature exhibitions and workshops about economic opportunities which exist in both the legalized cannabis and hemp industries.

City councillors agree to random selection for deciding who gets a permit to sell cannabis.

Cannabis retailers hoping to set up shop in Edmonton will have to bank on the luck of the draw.

The city's urban planning committee voted in favour of a lottery system Tuesday to choose who will get a development permit to sell pot.

Councillors Michael Walters said the random selection process puts small and big companies on the same playing field.  

"What we're trying to do is create a sense of fairness," Walters said after the decision. "There's a lot of interest in setting up cannabis business in Edmonton, from a variety of proponents from a variety of capacities."

Spots in Olds College cannabis program snapped up in hours, with hundreds of jobs in Alberta beckoning.

Olds College’s new cannabis production program isn’t some half-baked idea — it’s high time.

“We’ve been offering horticulture programming for over 50 years, so it makes sense for this new facet of the horticulture industry to come our way for training,” said Debbie Thompson, the college’s vice-president academic and student experience.

“It’s a new industry that’s expanding, and people see this as an opportunity to get into that field. This is their first step.”

Due to impending marijuana legalization in Canada, an amendment update to Cochrane’s smoking bylaw was a hot topic at the last regular session of town council. Jaylene Knight, the town's manager of legislative services, gave a non-decisive, information-only presentation to council on behalf of administration. “Legislative Services is working with Communications to develop a public engagement plan and communications strategy to ensure the public is consulted and feedback incorporated before the bylaw amendments are finalized,” said Knight in her presentation to council.

“This project will be added to the Let’s Talk Cochrane website and all public engagement opportunities will be advertised.”

While the Town of Cochrane is busy discussing marijuana on a regulatory level, conversations are flowing on a personal level as well. Yesterday, Cochrane Family & Community Support Services hosted a lunch program entitled “Cannabis Legalization and Our Community” at the Seniors on the Bow Centre. "We knew that cannabis legalization was an issue that most communities across Canada were talking about,” said Annemarie Tocher, resource center coordinator for the town.

"When we did our initial meetings in January, Seniors on the Bow expressed an interest in making a conversation available at their location."

The free event evoked an open dialogue between various members of Cochrane’s senior community and mental health & addiction professionals.

Some Alberta cannabis cultivators will be fuelling winter Olympic bobsleds instead of bongs.

Industrial hemp fibre, processed in Calgary from cannabis plants grown in southern Alberta, will help pave the way for safe, stable bobsled and luge runs at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

Last week, the first 163-kilogram shipment of Canadian Greenfield Technologies’ NForce-Fiber left its southeast Calgary plant for China to reinforce concrete used in the construction of the Xiaohaituo track near Beijing.

The company’s one-of-a-kind product has already been used to shore up concrete in numerous swimming pools and skateboard parks throughout North America.

But the Beijing contract is a marquee one, said general manager Stephen Christensen.