Sep 06, 2019

Ladysmith Retail Cannabis Survey Results Inform Council

The results of the Town of Ladysmith's survey on the sale of recreational cannabis have been collected and will now help inform Council as it shapes policy on retail outlets.

Surveys were delivered to 3,461 households earlier this year in April as well as made available online through a link from the Town's website.

Additional surveys could be picked up at City Hall for residents who either did not receive one in the mail, or had other members of their household who wanted to participate.

The majority of residents, or 59 per cent, supported the retail sale of cannabis in Ladysmith, while 37 per cent were opposed.  A unique identification code was included with each hard copy survey to ensure accuracy when compiling the results.

The Town would like to thank residents who took time to complete the seven question survey and participate in discussions on the public engagement platform PlaceSpeak.

Under a Zoning Bylaw amendment adopted by Council in 2017, the retail sale of cannabis is currently prohibited in Ladysmith. 

Municipal governments only have jurisdiction to create regulations specific to the sale of non-medical cannabis following federal legalization in October 2018.

Some of the questions posed to residents asked for their opinion on where recreational cannabis businesses should be located in the community, the number of outlets that should be permitted in Town, and the proximity of each business from schools, park entrances and retirement homes.

The response rate for surveys with unique identifiers was 34.53 per cent, or 1,195 surveys, and another 297 surveys were completed using the open online survey.

The margin of error on a random sample of 1,195 would be +/- 2.3 per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level.

Council received the survey results at its meeting on August 19, 2019 and will discuss them in further detail as part of the September 9, 2019 Municipal Services Committee meeting. 

Click here for the Council Agenda and refer to page 130 to read the survey results. Or, you can find them on our website. 

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