GREAT EXPECTATIONS? PERCEPTIONS OF CANNABIS REGULATION IN ABBOTSFORD, BRITISH COLUMBIA

On October 17th, 2018, Canada will become the first G7 country, and second country worldwide, to legalize recreational cannabis on the federal level. Given that few nations have taken this step, the impact on municipalities and communities is still unknown. The main objective of this report is to provide insight into the expectations around and unintended consequences of recreational cannabis legalization. The hope is that this insight can help identify unforeseen concerns and provide recommendations to minimize or eliminate these problems. To do this, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in the city of Abbotsford. The interviews lasted about 30 minutes on average and drew from a variety of groups including business people, dispensary owners, police, residents, and service providers. After the interviews were completed an analysis of the data was conducted using NVivo analysis software.

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