Pubdate: Tue, 11 Oct 2016
Source: Whistler Question (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016, Whistler Printing & Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.whistlerquestion.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1034
Author: Megan Lalonde

PEMBERTON FACES POT PREDICAMENT

Councillors deliberate as zoning amendment for marijuana dispensaries
put on hold

A request sent to the Village of Pemberton (VOP) council has presented
officials with a hot topic for debate.

In a letter presented at the VOP's Oct. 4 council meeting, Joseph Le
asked officials to consider amending the VOP zoning bylaw governing
the licensing of businesses to allow for medial cannabis dispensaries
to open up in Pemberton's downtown core.

Le - the owner of S.W.E.D. Society, an upscale medicinal marijuana
dispensary chain that already operates five stores in Toronto and one
in Downtown Vancouver - is hoping his request will prompt council to
follow other B.C. municipalities that have amended their bylaws in the
past two years, such as Vancouver, Victoria, and Squamish.

"These communities have taken action to enable patient access to
medicinal cannabis as well as to ensure that cannabis related
businesses operate in a manner that does not in any way compromise
public safety," he wrote. "We encourage the Village of Pemberton to
take early action and emerge as a leader in its views and bylaws
toward granting patients access to medicinal cannabis."

Le said he believes amending local bylaws to allow medicinal cannabis
business to operate in town would be "a natural progression" for
Pemberton, which already has a bylaw in place that allows cannabis
production facilities licensed by Health Canada to operate.

"Taking early action will allow the Village of Pemberton to ensure
that any medical cannabis-related retail business that operates in the
area is governed by stringent regulations," he wrote.

Le's request included a long list of security, health and safety
guidelines that he said should accompany the development of a bylaw.
For example, Le said cannabis-related businesses should not allow
anyone under 19 on the premises, nor anyone to use marijuana at the
location, and should install a security system.

Le even offered to prepare a business-license application for council
modeled on these guidelines. "We wish to demonstrate the ways in which
our business conforms to these best practice standards, and how we
would operate if granted a business license by the Village of
Pemberton," he said.

However, these security measures aren't enough to persuade all council
members, some of whom have raised serious concerns about a lack of
regulation for medical marijuana.

"My concerns are around the lack of regulations for medical dispensary
products," wrote Coun. Jennie Helmer in an email. "There are no
potency standards and no quality testing for medical marijuana. This
can result in unintended medical consequences for the participants and
I'd like to better understand how to manage this problem."

While the drug is subject to testing and must be produced by a
licensed producer (LP), Health Canada leaves it up to the LP to decide
which specifications and methods should be used for said testing.

At the Oct. 4 meeting, VOP Mayor Mike Richman proposed that council
put a hold on the zoning amendment, turn to neighbouring communities
that have faced this predicament to collect more information, and turn
the request over to a Committee of the Whole meeting for study.
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MAP posted-by: Matt