Much every municipality in Canada right now, the Town of Blackfalds is getting ready for the upcoming legalization of marijuana.

They recently put together a Community Cannabis Advisory Committee to learn more about how legalisation will affect every level of their community.

Mayor Richard Poole says they plan to take their time and make sure all of their bases are covered.

“We’re not going to jump into anything, we are going to make sure we have our ducks in a row, and that we know what we will be doing before we make a move. We put a moratorium on any businesses setting up until we can have our planning decided on…what the distances between retail outlet and schools and that type of thing are decided.”

Poole says they are taking their time with this process, and will learn from how other municipalities are preparing for legalization day.

“We’re going to be using the examples that are out there from other communities, we’re going to be taking the best. We’re not going to be shy about doing that. There could be changes coming down from the provincial government now that they have a date, we’re not sure about that, we want to make sure they finalize all the changes that they’re going to have in their regulations, and once that’s done we can move forward.”

That committee is broken down into three different groups: land use, policing and enforcement, and social and human services, and they will make recommendations on any bylaws or policies that are within the authority of the Town of Blackfalds to enact and enforce.

The committee will also be holding public engagement sessions once their plan begins to take form.

Marijuana becomes legal nationwide on October 17th.