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“If they adopt that model, which is what we are urging, they do the enforcement and municipalities won’t have a huge cost on this file, aside from routine administration and business licences,” said Jang.

Jang is also waiting to see whether the province would allow marijuana to be sold at government liquor stores or whether it would build stand-alone government pot shops.

Health authorities and the Union of B.C. Municipalities have been vocal against co-location because of health and safety risks.

“We know that ease of availability of any kind of substance increases the risk of addiction and overuse, whether it’s pot or alcohol,” said Jang, who is also co-chair of a joint provincial-municipal committee that issued a position paper on B.C.’s framework for cannabis regulation. “We don’t want to see that (co-location), certainly not at the outset, but maybe in the future once the research is clear as to the risks.”

A public engagement report released by the government Tuesday found the majority of people were opposed to selling recreational marijuana in liquor stores, while a majority of respondents indicated support for existing marijuana dispensaries.

Kirk Tousaw, a lawyer specializing in cannabis cases, said the province should transition the about 300 illegal dispensaries currently operating in the province to legal operations.

“There’s not much in negatives being caused by these establishments,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of talent in B.C. and we need to harness that and we need to acknowledge that they are pioneers, not criminals.”

Tousaw said the province should also continue to advocate for small-scale craft production to be included in the federal legal mix, so micro-producers in B.C. can flourish and perhaps lead to a thriving marijuana-tourism industry, similar to the wine industry, where visitors can have a “vineyard experience” at cannabis farms.

Tuesday’s announcement came after a consultation process involving close to 50,000 British Columbians and submissions from 141 local governments, First Nations groups and other stakeholders.

Farnworth said marijuana legalization isn’t going to be the lucrative windfall many people expect it to be — at least not immediately as there are plenty of upfront costs the government will have to deal with.

“I have no doubt there will be revenue in the middle- to long-term, but initially our focus is going to be on education, enforcement, and on ensuring the necessary infrastructure for the legalization of cannabis to proceed smoothly in B.C. is the priority,” said Farnworth.

chchan@postmedia.com

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