Pubdate: Thu, 28 May 2015
Source: Tri-Cities Now, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Glacier Community Media
Contact:  http://www.thenownews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1340

POCO PUTS POT IN RIGHT PLACE

Port Coquitlam is on the verge of getting a first in the
Tri-Cities.

On Monday, city council passed the third reading and all but rubber
stamped an application to build a medical marijuana production
facility at 1425 Kebet Way.

Remedi Pharmaceutical wants to convert a roughly 8,000 square-foot
portion of the two-acre warehouse into a self-contained medical
marijuana production facility that would produce 2,000 kilograms of
product annually.

While medical pot dispensaries remain illegal in the eyes of the
federal government and a legal conundrum for municipalities, Health
Canada does allow for production facilities like the one approved in
PoCo to exist. The company still needs approval from Health Canada
before its facility can become a reality.

But the biggest argument in favour of the industrial grow-op setup
from civic politicians is that it keeps them out of residential areas
and allows for proper regulation and security. So giving the thumbs up
to such a facility is a shrewd move by the City of PoCo and its
politicians.

It wasn't long ago that the city was inundated with residential
grow-ops under the former medical marijuana laws. Since its inception
in 2008, the city's public safety inspection (PSI) team has inspected
161 properties, leading to 88 controlled substance property
declarations to date.

However, as of mid-May, the PSI team has dealt with just one case in
the last year, according to the city.

Putting aside the philosophical debate over the legalization of weed,
it just makes sense to keep large scale medical pot grow facilities in
an industrial area away from homes where they can be properly monitored.

Facilities like the one being proposed by Remedi Pharmaceutical should
help keep the PSI team working on other projects.

The use of marijuana for medical purposes isn't going anywhere, so
anything cities can do to find the right places for these facilities
to operate is a win-win for for those who need it.
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MAP posted-by: Matt