Pubdate: Tue, 05 Feb 2013
Source: Now, The (Surrey, CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact:  http://www.thenownewspaper.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1462
Author: Jacob Zinn

BYLAW AMENDMENT AIMS TO REGULATE MEDICINAL POT IN SURREY

Change would prohibit marijuana from being grown in Surrey homes and 
only allow medicinal grow-ops to be located in commercial buildings

Surreyites who smoke medicinal marijuana may soon need to find a new 
dealer if they currently buy from "homegrown" suppliers.

Last Monday, Surrey city council approved a corporate report 
recommendation to amend a city bylaw that would prohibit personal 
marijuana growing operations and allow medical marijuana to be grown 
only in commercial buildings that are zoned as C-8B, Community 
Commercial B. City staff are preparing the bylaw with the amendment, 
which will appear before council at a public hearing in the future.

"Canada does recognize medicinal use and growing for personal use, 
but it's been very hard to regulate," said Coun. Barinder Rasode. 
"That's something that's of concern to us in Surrey."

The amendment is part of a federal effort to monitor the growing of 
medicinal marijuana, announced by Federal Minister of Health Leona 
Aglukkaq on Dec. 16, 2012. The following day, city council adopted a 
resolution to restrict the commercial cultivation, production, 
delivery and sale of medical marijuana to a particular zone within the city.

The proposed changes to the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations came 
about over such public safety concerns as fire hazards.

In 2003, 15 of Surrey's 173 house fires were directly attributable to 
electrical problems associated with a grow operation. As well, the 
average value of property loss in Surrey house fires involving 
grow-ops between 1997 and 2003 was $59,307, nearly twice the average 
for general house fires.

"We just believe that, in terms of broader public safety, it is very 
important," said Rasode. "The growing of medical marijuana does have 
some impacts on the community and we'd like to see it more regulated 
in Surrey. If it's done in a commercial facility we're able to 
regulate that better."

The report states that personal licences would be eliminated and a 
licensing process for commercial medicinal marijuana grow-ops would 
be established. Rasode noted that some personal grow-ops sell 
marijuana from their stash to recreational smokers who don't have 
prescriptions.

"It's an issue that we think could easily become a problem, so we're 
trying to get ahead of it," she said.

Randy Caine, owner of the chain of Hempyz smoking accessories stores, 
acknowledged the government has had trouble monitoring illicit sales 
of medical marijuana, but added that taking away personal licences 
restricts the freedom of the medicinal users who grow only for themselves.

"I do think there's going to be a tremendous amount of resistance," 
said Caine of the federal effort. "You can't take away, increasingly, 
the amount of independence that these people have."

Caine, who said he previously ran a dispensary in Langley, also spoke 
to concerns that commercial suppliers will charge more. He said while 
medical marijuana doesn't need to be more expensive, he's worried the 
few with licences may take advantage of their positions and overcharge.

"I already see it now in terms of dispensaries that are charging $10 
a gram," he said. "A lot of the dispensaries are charging more than 
what I would consider street pricing."

Rasode noted that the city would see additional revenue from business 
licences and taxes on commercial buildings, but not from the sale of 
medicinal marijuana.

Marijuana brings in an estimated $6 billion in revenue yearly in 
British Columbia. Between 500,000 and a million Canadians use medical marijuana.
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