Pubdate: Tue, 26 Jul 2016
Source: Osoyoos Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Osoyoos Times
Contact:  http://www.osoyoostimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3873

TOWN PRUDENT TO WAIT FOR FEDS ON MEDICAL POT DISPENSARIES

The Town of Osoyoos is currently in the process of passing a bylaw 
that will in effect ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

The zoning bylaw is seen as temporary.

Not surprisingly, members of the public are divided and even town 
council, which tends to govern by consensus, is split on the issue.

At a public hearing earlier this month, a number of people spoke 
about the merits of dispensaries themselves and the benefits of 
medical marijuana.

That, however, was not the purpose of the hearing. Town council's 
role is not to debate the merits of marijuana.

Rather, it is to make zoning decisions on where in the town such 
businesses can be located - if they are permitted under federal and 
provincial law.

And that's a big "if." Currently such dispensaries are not legal 
under federal law, but that status is in limbo - caught between court 
rulings and new regulations expected to be announced in August.

Currently those purchasing medical marijuana must obtain it by mail 
from a licensed producer. To do so, they require a document obtained 
from a legitimate medical practitioner - not somebody in cyberspace 
reached over Skype.

But a Federal Court decision in February, Allard vs. Canada, upheld 
patients' rights to grow their own medical marijuana, and gave the 
government six months to come up with new regulations.

The court did not specifically rule dispensaries are legal, but the 
courts have left the door open to further challenges of the 
limitations on patient access.

Some municipalities have allowed dispensaries to open under certain 
restrictions, or at least turned a blind eye. Others more recently 
have cracked down.

Osoyoos town administration, acting on legal advice, has recommended 
the bylaw banning dispensaries as a temporary measure until the 
federal government announces the new regulations.

Although councillors C.J. Rhodes and Mike Campol argue that this 
bylaw is unnecessary and sends a signal of intolerance, there is 
merit in putting a hold on such businesses until the law is clarified.

If illegal businesses open now, it will be harder to make them comply 
with future zoning bylaws on where they can locate.

Many marijuana dispensaries are trying to become established 
businesses in the hopes of profiting when recreational marijuana 
becomes legal sometime next year.

But we should be wary of rewarding businesses that act illegally and 
jump the gun, ahead of those that seek to comply with the law.

The federal government is moving forward on both medical and 
recreational marijuana. Town council would be wise to let the feds 
act before allowing local marijuana businesses to become established.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom