Selling, consuming cannabis creating confusion for Edmonton festivals

Rules around where you can sell and consume cannabis are creating confusion for festivals in Edmonton this summer.

While city councillor Michael Janz says there’s a growing interest in cannabis food and drinks, rules in Edmonton still need to be ironed out.

“There’s certain areas where we have beer gardens just for adults, where we have outdoor festivals, where we have music venues and concerts, where we have Folk Fest, where we have others. We need to figure these pieces out where people can enjoy in a responsible way,” said Janz.

There was a cannabis tent at the Fringe Festival last year, but not this year.

K-Days also had cannabis plans, but that fell through.

The Works Art and Design Festival in Churchill Square has a beer garden.

The organizer says that with shifting trends around alcohol consumption, clearer rules for events with both alcohol and cannabis in one spot would be welcome.

“Where there is interest, there should be some effort into finding how they can be side by side,” said Amber Rooke, the executive director of the Works Works Art and Design Festival.

You’ll find a lot of patios like this at festivals in Edmonton, where you can enjoy an alcoholic beverage of your choice. Cannabis food and drinks, though, that’s another story. We talked to Edmontonians to see what they think, whether that should be allowed.

“Since it is licensed in Canada for cannabis, I don’t see why not,” said Josh Manlapaz.

Yin Xu says, “Of course I don’t think so because I’m a zero-alcohol person.”

Rogelio Martinez adds, “People should be able to do whatever they want. It’s a free country.”

Tatiana Kastnar says, “We come with children here. If it comes to smoking, then the smell might be quite disruptive and discomforting, so I wouldn’t really support this.”