EDMONTON—On a warm spring day in Edmonton, a former Alberta deputy premier makes his way to the downtown offices of a medical marijuana company that plans to open a 160-acre cannabis cultivation facility.

Peter Elzinga, 74, is the chairman of the board of directors of Atlas Growers, an applicant to receive a Health Canada licence to cultivate cannabis for medical purposes.

On May 15, the president and CEO of Atlas Growers — which recently signed a financing deal with ATB Financial for up to $6.25 million — in a statement said Elzinga’s “extensive political, management and leadership experience will bring both value and accountability to our rapidly expanding organization.”

One glance at Elzinga’s lengthy resume shows why the company wanted to court him.

In addition to a 12-year stint on Parliament Hill as a sitting MP, he represented Sherwood Park in the provincial legislature as a Progressive Conservative MLA between 1986 and 1993. During this time, he held the economic development and agricultural portfolios, and was deputy premier under Ralph Klein’s government.

Since quitting politics, Elzinga has turned to business. He is chairman of the Goodfish Lake Business Corporation Board and is the former director of EPCOR and former vice-president and director for Northlands.

“If one just looks at the growth potential once it becomes legal, I think it’s going to be enormous,” Elzinga said of the federal government’s plan to legalize cannabis this summer.

Just a few years ago, the chances of legalization felt slim, he added.

“One never thought it would become a reality,” Elzinga said of his time in Ottawa in the 1980s. “It’s honestly good, in my opinion, that it has become a reality.”

Bill C-45, also called the Cannabis Act, is currently before the Senate, which has committed to hold a third reading vote on the bill no later than June 7. If the bill passes, the provinces and territories will take between eight to 12 weeks to put in place the framework required for their retail systems.

Legal cannabis is expected to become a multibillion-dollar industry in Canada. Several big players in the industry plan to — or have already opened — their offices or cultivation facilities in northern Alberta.

In January, Aurora Cannabis Inc. announced its 800,000-square-foot facility was licensed south of Edmonton, near the airport. Once operational, it is expected to produce more than 100,000 kilograms of cannabis each year. Another retailer, Fire & Flower, moved its headquarters from Ontario to Edmonton and plans to open 37 retail locations in Alberta, with the bulk of them in Edmonton.

With all that money on the line, it’s not surprising Edmontonians from all walks of life hope to cash in on the buzz.

Edmonton-based Shandi Nickolet was a teacher for more than a decade. He taught physical education — and myriad other subjects — in Nova Scotia and northern Alberta. Around two years ago, excited by the prospect of the budding cannabis industry, he decided to change career paths.

Now with National Access Cannabis, a medical marijuana supplier, he is hoping the city will grant his company a licence to operate a retail cannabis store on Whyte Avenue. As a former educator, the 41-year-old has seen first-hand the impact of cannabis on youth.

He said students these days can access easily access illegal cannabis, adding that regulating sales can mitigate risk. To demonstrate this, he recalls when a guest lecturer once asked his class of Grade 10 and 11 students whether it would be easier for them to access alcohol or cannabis.

“The resounding response from the students in the class was that they’d have to leave the school, go to one of their parents’ houses, figure out how to make a mickey disappear without having to explain it to their parents,” he said.

“But almost every child in that class — and this was a Grade 10/11 career and life management class — could find or had a phone number of somebody in their phone that they could text and meet them in the bathroom within four of five minutes … to get some cannabis.”

Rather than using scare tactics, he said, it’s important to educate people about cannabis. “The reality is that this is here and this is becoming legal and rather than fight it, I think we should be working to educate about it.”

With so many cannabis businesses expected to blossom in the Edmonton area, one former human resources consultant is setting out to do just that — educating her clients.

In 2015, 33-year-old Alison McMahon founded what she says is Canada’s only staffing agency focused on cannabis. Cannabis at Work helps educate businesses on all cannabis-related affairs, including through online courses on serving cannabis — labelled “budtending” — and workplace impairment training.

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Since Canada is wading into uncharted waters with legalization, McMahon said there are a number of concerns over impairment and drug testing. For example, she said, current technology can’t adequately show active impairment.

While routine saliva and urine tests can show if an individual has tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that causes people to get high — in their system, they can’t indicate if the person is actively intoxicated.

All these details will have to be ironed out in the coming months, McMahon said.

When the city conducted a survey of interested cannabis retailers, they received more than 400 responses. Debbie Dowell, who plans on operating a dispensary once cannabis is legalized, was one of the respondents.

The 61-year-old is part-owner of 710 Shattered — a head shop in the north end. Once in business, she hopes to convert half of her shop into a retail cannabis store with a focus on health and wellness. She wants to use cannabis edibles to assist seniors and veterans with medical conditions.

“Most people don’t want to start smoking in the middle of their life,” she said. “They just want to start feeling better.”

Cannabis-infused edibles can help treat insomnia, knee-replacement and cancer patients, Dowell said, who plans to hold information sessions on growing and cooking with cannabis for seniors.

While Dowell commissions floor plans to submit a retail cannabis application both to the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) and the city, she will have to wait a bit before she can start selling edibles.

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According to the federal government, it could take up to a year after legalization for the sale of edibles to be permitted. This gives the government enough time to roll out regulations to address any additional risks associated with these products.

City hall expects around 200 applications for local cannabis retailers once they begin accepting expressions of interest, which will operate on a lottery system basis.

Cannabis is a “bit more recession-proof than some other industries,” said McMahon, who believes there is a big business opportunity in retail cannabis. “People are going to want to consume their recreational substances in good times or bad times.”

Moreover, she added, it’s a boon for the economy.

“In Edmonton and Alberta, there are a lot of people who are really tired of the boom-bust cycle of our economy.”

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