Pubdate: Wed, 15 Jun 2016
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Page: A1
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network
Contact:  http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Annalise Klingbeil

CITY HEADS OFF HEADACHES OF MEDICAL POT BUSINESSES

City council has approved rules to prevent medical marijuana 
counselling businesses from clustering in communities or opening near 
schools, in an effort to prevent illegal dispensaries from littering 
neighbourhoods.

While the rules may be aggressive in a city with just two medical 
marijuana counselling outfits (that can't legally dispense the drug), 
some councillors said it's important to get ahead of what could be a 
major problem down the road.

"I'm not one to typically be supportive of overregulation but, in 
this particular instance, I think it's a prudent step ," Coun. Andre 
Ch a bot said during Tuesday's debate on the changes. Council heard 
that in larger cities such as Vancouver and Toronto, an explosion of 
counselling centres-turned illegal dispensaries have clustered 
together and plagued communities with problems.

"If we don't manage the counselling piece very well, we'll find 
ourselves with an out-of-control dispensary situation, which is what 
happened in Toronto," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi. The land-use bylaw 
amendment that passed Tuesday in a 10-3 vote requires medical 
marijuana counselling businesses to be located at least 300 metres 
apart and 150 metres from schools, much like Calgary's rules for liquor stores.

The new rules, which the Calgary Planning Commission recommended 
council reject, also require new medical marijuana counselling 
outfits to apply for a development permit, meaning residents could 
have a chance to appeal.

Calgary's business-use and land-use bylaws didn't previously have a 
category to regulate medical marijuana counselling outfits.

Discussion about the changes began last summer when councillors Diane 
Colley-Urquhart and Gian-Carlo Carra pushed for new rules following 
the opening of the 420 Clinic in Inglewood, which helps patients 
navigate federal laws.

When the medical pot clinic opened its doors, it rankled some 
residents who feared it could eventually become a pot dispensary and 
expressed concerns about the clinic's signage, esthetics and effect 
on the neighbourhood.

Work on the bylaw began before the Trudeau government (which ran on a 
pledge to legalize marijuana) came into power, and councillors 
acknowledged the measures passed Tuesday will change in the wake of 
future federal pot legislation.

"To me, it's a balanced approach. It's an interim approach so we can 
continue to communicate what we're expecting in our communities," 
said Colley-Urquhart.

Calgary Police Service Staff Sgt. Keith Hurley, who spoke to council 
Tuesday about the bylaw, said the new rules would prevent certain 
communities from becoming hotbeds for marijuana and ensure the drug 
is seen as a "medical issue, not a recreational issue."

"In Vancouver, what they have seen is sandwich board signs right out 
front, come get a medical marijuana prescription here. It leads one 
to believe that it's just that easy, you can just go in, get your 
ticket and off you go to get your marijuana, which implies more of a 
recreational use," he said.

But, some counsellors took issue with the suggestion that medical 
marijuana counselling outfits in Calgary would quickly turn into 
illegal dispensaries.

Coun. Druh Farrell said doing so would be like assuming every massage 
therapist is also a bawdy house.

"Why are we talking about making these distant separations from 
schools, from other locations, if it's simply going to be 
counselling?" asked Coun. Peter Demong.

Following an at-times heated debate, the majority of counsellors 
agreed that getting ahead of what could be a potential problem in the 
future was necessary.

Councillors Evan Woolley, Brian Pincott and Jim Stevenson voted 
against the motion.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom