Pubdate: Tue, 23 Jul 2013
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: John Colebourn

POT SMELL NOT ON EATERY'S MENU

Burnaby: Restaurant owner wants strata council to oust legal marijuana grow-op

A showdown in south Burnaby is expected Thursday between the owner of 
a restaurant and his neighbour, who's growing medical marijuana.

Anton Heggen, owner of the Fraser Park Restaurant in the 4600-block 
Byrne Road, is fuming that the smell of pot from a recently opened 
medical-marijuana grow op next door to his strata-titled unit is 
causing a big stir in his eatery.

And he has demanded the owner of the unit stop growing the pot 
because of the smell.

"I first noticed the smell three months ago," Heggen said Monday at 
his busy restaurant in the industrial strip mall.

Heggen, 62, who has operated his family run eatery for 17 years, said 
he's brought the issue to the attention of the strata council running 
the 14-unit complex.

"We don't allow a grow-op," he said of his interpretation of the 
Strata Property Act.

"Customers are asking, 'What are you doing back there?'" he said. "I 
don't like the smell in my restaurant. It is not right. You open the 
door and get a good whiff of marijuana."

The proliferation of medical marijuana grow-ops has resulted in about 
25,000 British Columbians now holding pot-growing licences issued by 
Health Canada.

According to Phil Dougan, the lawyer for Darren Pearson, who has the 
licence to grow pot in the Byrne Road complex, they plan on meeting 
with the strata council of the property Thursday.

"We are going on Thursday for a meeting," Dougan said. "It is a very 
interesting set of circumstances - it is a two-sides-of-the-coin 
issue. "But the reality is, it is legal, and he has special dispensation.

"I'm hoping we can hear their concerns and see what can be done so 
Mr. Pearson can continue to do what he has been allowed to do," said 
Dougan. "A good ventilation and security system will go a long way."

Dougan pointed out his client is not violating any bylaw in Burnaby.

"I'm not aware of any bylaws that would restrict them from growing 
medical marijuana," he said.

The number of B.C.ers holding grow-op licences nearly tripled last 
year, and the province now holds more than half of all Canadian licences.

In June, citing public safety, then Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq 
unveiled new federal medical-pot rules, citing growth in medical 
marijuana users as a reason to ban patients from growing their own.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom