Pubdate: Tue, 08 Apr 2014
Source: Alberni Valley Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Glacier Community Media
Contact:  http://www.avtimes.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4043
Author: Scott McKenzie
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MEDICAL POT ISSUE RISING IN ACRD ELECTORAL AREAS

Proposed Bylaw Set to Go Through Second and Third Readings at Meeting Tomorrow

The future of medical marijuana production in the Alberni-Clayoquot 
Regional District will be one step closer to reality tomorrow.

A staff-initiated bylaw to allow facilities to set up in the 
electoral areas of the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District has gone 
through its public hearing and is set to receive second and third 
readings by area directors tomorrow in a public meeting.

The bylaw, as it stands, will allow for licensed medical pot grow-ops 
on properties at least 1.62 hectares in size, and in buildings 
located a minimum of 30.48 metres from all lot lines.

At a public hearing for the proposed bylaw, 15 community members 
attended, with 13 providing verbal input. Ten were generally opposed 
to the idea of the facilities being allowed, while three were in favour.

One who spoke against the bylaw was Bill Thomson, chairman of the 
local Agricultural Advisory Committee. "We own the land," Thomson 
said of the federal government making decisions about pot production. 
"The government doesn't own this. We made the regulations and the 
rules how to rezone all this stuff and what we want to do with it in 
the official community plan.

How can we sit here and let Ottawa or Health Canada dictate what we 
are going to do with our land? It's not their land, it's our land. 
And it's our rules and regulations within this office that we go by." 
Thomson recommended the ACRD board "turn down this bylaw and sit down 
and figure out what's right because you're going to have a mess."

Valley resident Dwight Dockendorf, however, argued allowing these 
facilities will create jobs for fellow residents.

"I think Port Alberni needs this," he said. "There's not jobs here, 
and this is going to create jobs."

Port Alberni resident Susan Roth countered that idea, saying that it 
was no worse than having an alcohol retailer open its doors.

There were also recommendations the regional district defer the 
bylaw, which is an option to see how other local governments handle it.

Sproat Lake Parks Committee chairman Joe Lamoureux also spoke against 
the bylaw.

"There's too many questions that aren't answered yet," he said. "The 
feds say yes, we're going to regulate it, yes we're going to keep an 
eye on it, but how are they going to do that? We don't know this."

New regulations were going to take effect on April 1 that would have 
forced residential medicinal marijuana growers to destroy their 
gardens, but an injunction from a federal court judge on March 21 put 
this in flux.

The Honourable Justice Manson granted an injunction that allows 
licensed medicinal marijuana growers to continue their operations 
until the court reaches a final decision.

Ryan Malazdrewicz, who holds a licence to grow pot residentially in 
Ucluelet, said the whole process is creating confusion for patients 
who rely on the herb to deal with pain.

"It's been a tense time for us," he said. "There's a ton of people 
that I work with and consult with, and patients that I work with that 
have all called in in tears."

Regional district staff recommend the area directors continue with 
the second and third readings of the bylaw, while accepting the 
minutes of the public hearing on the matter.

Other concerns that were raised from the public hearing were 
questions about odour, fire protection, crime and policing, water 
usage, noise, use of the agricultural land reserve, building setbacks 
and variance processes, the minimum lot size and the lack of 
enforcement of licence requirements.

Other options for the directors at tomorrow's board meeting are to 
defer a decision, direct staff to make amendments and delegate a 
second public hearing, or defeat the bylaw altogether.

The ACRD board of directors meeting takes place tomorrow at the 
regional district office on Fifth Avenue at 1:30 p.m.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom