The Manitoba School Boards Association says a buffer zone of 150 to 300 metres between schools and cannabis retail outlets, as described in the "Zoning for Cannabis: A Guide for Municipalities" report, is not enough.

Ken Cameron sent a letter to Manitoba municipalities including the Association of Manitoba Municipalities and stated he would like to see the buffer zone greater than 300 metres.

Hanover School Division Superintendent Randy Dueck says he would like to see the buffer zone as great as possible.

"So, as the municipalities are considering these things to say, you know what, we don't really want these kinds of retail outlets close to schools, we want them as far away from schools as we possibly can make them under the guidelines. So, that would certainly be my first choice, is to say, let's keep them as far from schools as we possibly can."

In the letter, Cameron stated, "It seems counterintuitive to us that the guide would propose a one kilometre buffering zone in between cannabis retail outlets while reducing this distance to less than one third when it comes to locations frequented by our youngest citizens and residents."

AMM President Chris Goertzen says, "The AMM appreciates the perspective of the MSBA, and we are sure our members will consider these recommendations when establishing the buffer zones. However, it is up to individual municipalities to determine what those will be."

Dueck says as a division they are working to update policies to take the upcoming new cannabis law into account.

"We also need to continue to work on our education plan We need to continue to work on how do we educate our students around the dangers of cannabis use, the challenges of cannabis use, and what the laws actually mean and don't mean."

He notes the Hanover School Division is always making sure the school environments are a safe and excellent place for kids to learn.