Pubdate: Thu, 08 May 2014
Source: Parksville Qualicum Beach News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Black Press
Contact:  http://www.pqbnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1361
Author: John Harding

ONE HAZY ISSUE
	
Municipal councils are caught between a rock and pungent place when it
comes to the operation of medical marijuana facilities within their
borders.

While court challenges have the rules and regulations somewhat in
limbo right now, a couple of things are clear:

* the federal government will have the final say on who is licensed to
grow weed;

* towns and cities have little recourse when it comes to what the
provincial government considers permitted uses on land within the
Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR)

So, what's a city to do? Parksville is struggling with that question
right now, and they are trying to set up bylaws and zoning changes to
at least have some say in where these licensed grow-ops can operate.

There are blocks of land in the city that are under the jurisdiction
of the ALR. That means they have a limited amount of permitted uses,
and history shows it doesn't really matter if nothing did, or could,
grow on the land. What's more, the decisions on what is or is not a
permitted use - from cherry orchards to indoor medical marijuana
grow-ops - are made in Victoria and not by local elected officials.

The problems, from a community perspective, arise when these ALR lands
are close to residences or schools. Secure and regulated to the teeth
or not, a licensed grow-op near an elementary school just doesn't seem
responsible.

There are a few blocks of land in the city that are zoned agricultural
but are not in the ALR. The city is taking steps to ensure their
bylaws won't allow grow-ops on these lands. It's not that the city is
taking a moral stand - staff and councillors seem to think this kind
of operation would be better suited in the industrial park, which
makes sense.

Mayor Chris Burger has said the following previously, but he said it
again Monday night in light of what he thinks the future holds for
marijuana in this country, and how these new grow-ops could turn into
mega-profitable operations when regulations loosen and one won't need
a prescription to legally get some weed. We leave you with the mayor's
prediction:

"Within five years, marijuana will be fully legal both for medical and
recreational purposes."

- - Editorial by John Harding
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MAP posted-by: Matt