Hope for a pot shop in Creighton has gone up in smoke – for now.
During the April 25 town council meeting, council received a letter from Gene Makowsky, the provincial minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority. In the letter, the Saskatchewan government reaffirmed it will not allow communities with less than 2,500 people to pursue retail marijuana operations, saying the province “is not prepared to reconsider the approach at this time.”
The response comes after a letter from the Town of Carnduff, Sask., saying that the government’s current stance shuts off economic opportunity for small towns. Creighton’s town council reviewed the letter and sent a response to the ministry earlier this year.
“At this point, I guess we’re not going to see one in Creighton,” said Mayor Bruce Fidler.
However, the Makowsky letter does not completely close the door on small town marijuana sales, saying the government may reconsider the strategy once marijuana legalization is more established.
“Depending on market demand and impact on black market sales, this may change in the future,” reads the letter.
“Depending on the initial success, if there is, then hopefully there will be room for discussion and room for movement,” said Fidler.
Fidler added that the response was expected, given the surge of activity and applications for opening up retail locations after marijuana is legalized nationwide this summer.
A government report released on April 20 listed more than 1,500 applications to operate retail marijuana locations in Saskatchewan. In total, only 51 retail permits in 32 communities will be issued.
“They’ve got roughly 1,500 applications for 51 locations. I think there’s quite a desire to have them, but I guess the more you have, the less money each one will make.”
No communities in northeastern Saskatchewan, including municipalities governed by Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation – which was on the province’s initial lit of eligible communities but has opted out of accepting a permit – will host a marijuana store this year. Prince Albert, Meadow Lake, La Loche, La Ronge and Nipawin were included on the provincial government’s list of communities that had accepted permits for marijuana retail.
In the past, Fidler and members of town council said they would be open to applications for marijuana retail operations once rules change.
