Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jan 2014
Source: Journal-Pioneer, The (CN PI)
Copyright: 2014 Journal-Pioneer
Contact:  http://www.journalpioneer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2789
Author: Dave Stewart

MEDICAL MARIJUANA MEETING PLANNED FOR NEXT WEEK

CHARLOTTETOWN - Residents in Charlottetown are going to have their say
on the medical marijuana issue next week.

The City of Charlottetown has scheduled a public meeting for
Wednesday, Jan. 29 to hear comments on that issue as well as a
rezoning application from Mel's Petro Can on St. Peters Road and the
addition of a new horse barn at the Charlottetown Driving Park.

The meeting takes place in the Georgian Room at the Rodd Charlottetown
Hotel on Kent Street, beginning at 7 p.m.

On the medical marijuana issue, the city may be paving the way for the
province's first production facility. Council recently voted 9-0 to
proceed to the public consultation phase to consider an amendment to
the city's zoning and development bylaw.

Such an amendment would add the definition for medical marijuana
production facility.

That resolution also stipulates that such a production facility can
only be built in a heavy industrial zone or a business park industrial
zone, such as the bio-commons park in the former neighbourhood of West
Royalty.

The federal government launched a $1.3 billion free market in medical
marijuana last fall. Health Canada is phasing out an older system that
mostly relied on small-scale, homegrown medical marijuana of varying
quality, often diverted illegally to the black market.

Under new federal legislation, large indoor marijuana farms certified
by the RCMP and health inspectors will produce, package and distribute
a range of standardized weed, all of it sold for whatever price the
market will bear.

The first sales took place this past October, delivered directly by
secure courier.

This step by council is in response to the changes made
federally.

There is no application before the city for a medical marijuana
production facility but Coun. Rob Lantz, chairman of the planning
committee, said he has heard rumours that someone may be interested
and is in talks with the federal government about the possibility of
doing that in the P.E.I. capital.

As of October 2013, there were 37,400 medical marijuana users across
the country recognized by the department but officials project that
number will swell more than 10-fold, to as many as 450,000 people, by
2024.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D