Pubdate: Mon, 17 Mar 2014
Source: Abbotsford News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Abbotsford News
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/BkAJKrUD
Website: http://www.abbynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1155
Author: Alex Butler

CITY WANTS HEALTH CANADA TO PROVIDE LEGAL GROW LOCATIONS

Council will ask UBCM to lobby senior government for addresses

The city is hoping the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) will endorse
a plan to petition Health Canada to provide addresses for all grow
operations licensed in the city.

Each year, UBCM asks municipalities for resolutions, and if endorsed
at the annual convention, give UBCM the mandate to lobby senior
government on the issues.

As the country shifts to commercial grow-ops instead of personal home
production for medical marijuana, many municipalities are concerned
about ensuring homes formerly used for grow-ops are properly remediated.

Health Canada does not release the addresses of legal grows to ensure
patient privacy.

Council plans to send their resolution to UBCM for consideration,
explaining that the lack of addresses makes it difficult to ensure the
safety of residents.

A report from staff states that while the city knows of about 120
locations, they believe there to be about 800. Staff has concerns that
although grow-ops must shut down by April 1, some residents may not
comply and they would like to be able to inspect the homes to ensure
public safety.
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MAP posted-by: Matt