Pubdate: Fri, 06 Jan 2012
Source: Coast Reporter (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Coast Reporter
Contact:  http://www.coastreporter.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/580
Author: Christine Wood
Cited: Stop the Violence BC: http://stoptheviolencebc.org/

Medicinal Pot Production

SECHELT EXPLORES MARIJUANA ZONES

An application to renovate a building for medicinal pot production in 
Sechelt prompted councillors to look at a potential zoning bylaw at 
the Jan. 4 committee of the whole meeting.

"Right now it's not an allowed use in the zoning bylaw, so we have 
been checking into options to make that work and also did some 
research about the whole medical marijuana theme,"  acting director 
of development services Andre Boel said.

He explained that although it is legal to grow medicinal marijuana in 
a home with a licence, growing pot in residential neighbourhoods can 
create unsafe situations.

While medicinal growers of the drug must register with provincial 
authorities, local law enforcement officers and first responders are 
not given the information due to privacy concerns.

Sechelt Fire Chief Bill Higgs was at the Jan. 4 meeting and said the 
improper wiring that is done in many of the legal grow ops is 
extremely dangerous to firefighters.

"The fire service on the Coast is united in the suggestion that we 
would like to see some political direction to get as much of this out 
of people's homes as possible, because again when we show up to it, 
we're unaware of what's going on and people are not forthcoming with 
the information,"  Higgs said.

Councillors had many questions about the proposed zoning bylaw 
brought forward by staff, which calls for a specific land use zoning 
bylaw to allow growing only in industrial and agricultural zones.

Due to the wide array of questions and the relatively new subject 
material, councillors recommended sending the issue to an information 
meeting before moving any further.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom