It’s time for cannabis tourism to be taken seriously in Calgary, and in Alberta.
In all of Canada as a matter of fact.
But let’s focus on Calgary for now.
Coun. Kourtney Penner is introducing a notice of motion that will allow for the sale of cannabis at festivals and events. That’s currently allowed in Alberta, but not in Calgary, thanks to language when the original bylaw was written in 2018.
The current bylaw says cannabis sales have to be tied to a provincial licence, which has to be done at a brick-and-mortar location.
This was a way of preventing online sales, but the unintended consequence is we don’t have sales at festivals and events yet, unlike other cities, like Edmonton.
Removing this roadblock is a good step to allowing better and safer access to cannabis, but more needs to be done to grow the cannabis tourism industry.
Six years after cannabis was legalized in Canada, tourism still has yet to take root, and with more and more U.S. states moving to legalization, the window for us to become the world’s leader is closing.
In 2022, Cannabis tourism was estimated to be a $17 billion industry in the United States, and with more states moving to legalization, it has since grown.
Cannabis Tourism should be worth billions in Canada as well, but there is currently no tracking of spending data at the municipal, provincial or federal level. A lack of coordinated policy is also preventing the Canadian cannabis tourism sector from growing.
What is needed in Alberta is a streamlining of policy between AHS, AGLC and municipalities to allow the cannabis tourism sector to grow.
Since October 2018, I have operated Cannanaskis a tourism company focused on the history of cannabis, but due to Calgary's cannabis consumption bylaw, we are not able to operate within the city. This means I have to transport guests about 45 minutes west, to Kananaskis Country, for them to be able to consume legally. We stop at a dispensary so guests can purchase legally.
In 2020, Cannanaskis offered dinner tours at Heritage Park in Calgary, which lasted for about 1.5 years. Those were very well-received, but despite it being after-hours and in a privately rented space, it was deemed a "publicly accessible space" by AHS and the AGLC and in violation of the city bylaw, so I needed to apply for a special event permit to consume cannabis.
To get a special event permit, an application must be made 90 days in advance (alcohol only takes two weeks) and the event can only happen 15 or fewer times per year. This ended tours at Heritage Park, as most are booked a few days in advance rather than months.
Without Canadian data, I looked to Colorado which is comparable in size and demographics with Alberta. Five years after legalization there, about the same time period as we are in now, they found that 6.2 per cent of visitors chose Colorado specifically because cannabis was legal, and 15 per cent of visitors spent money at a dispensary.
Tourism Calgary estimates about 8.4 million people visited Calgary last year, and if you extrapolate that data, that would mean 520,800 people visited because we have legal cannabis, and 1.2 million visited a dispensary, representing upward of $100 million in spending.
Visitors to Alberta spent $12.7 billion in 2023 and the province wants to increase visitor spending to $25 billion by 2035. Cannabis can help achieve that.
Here is another study on cannabis tourism.
Provincial rules which conflict with municipal bylaws, namely around where it can be consumed, need to be streamlined to allow for growth.
I have met with politicians and representatives from the municipal and provincial governments, and while polite, all have told me there was no appetite for change.
Perhaps that is finally changing.
Calgary is a historic city when it comes to cannabis as Tommy Chong, arguably the most famous stoner in the world, was raised here (he was born near Edmonton); we also have the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio at Studio Bell, which was used to record one of Bob Marley's most famous songs; and the city is connected to Emily Murphy, who was part of cannabis being made illegal in 1923.
With proper policy and strategy in place, we can become Canada’s leader, and in turn, the world’s best place for cannabis tourism.