Pubdate: Thu, 16 Jan 2014
Source: Chief, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Whistler Printing & Publishing
Contact: http://www.squamishchief.com/section/squamish0303&template=letter
Website: http://www.squamishchief.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2414
Author: Rebecca Aldous

CHANGES TO POT RULES FIRE UP POLITICIANS

There's No Mechanism In Place To Ensure Transition, Kirkham
Says

With no additional cash or system in place, municipal officials are
wondering how they're expected to deal with Health Canada's new
medical marijuana regulations.

As of April 1, licensed individuals growing medical pot under Ottawa's
Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) will by asked to throw it
out with the kitty litter. Home grow-op licences will be axed, as
Health Canada turns production over to approved commercial operators.

That's got B.C. municipalities fired up. District of Squamish
officials have no idea how many individual licensees operate in town.
Nor does the municipality have spare change to pay for the
transition's enforcement.

"[Health Canada] are just walking away from that," Mayor Rob Kirkham
said. "There is no funding and no mechanism in place."

The health agency's announcement was met with widespread
dissatisfaction at a Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM)
meeting last September, Kirkham said. While Health Canada doesn't have
the jurisdiction to ensure patients scrap their marijuana plants,
municipalities have few resources to enforce the cessation.

"We can address it under our nuisance bylaw," Kirkham said, noting
that requires the cooperation of residents who become aware of a
medical grow op.

A new B.C. Assessment policy has placed a spanner in municipal
taxation. The rule may allow commercial medical marijuana operators to
apply for farm status. That would place the facilities in a lower tax
bracket.

"It would completely take that whole benefit away from the community,"
Kirkham said.

District staff are examining where those operations fit within the
municipality's zoning. Health Canada rules already require that
production must occur in a warehouse, have surveillance and control
odour.

The district is planning to stage an open house in early February on
the subject.

"We are really looking forward to this public information meeting,"
Kirkham said.

The new rules are a tough sell, said Dana Larsen, the founding
director of the Vancouver Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary. People aren't
going to throw out their current medicine in order to pay more for it
down the road, he said, noting people can grow pot for $1 a gram and
Health Canada estimates prices will be around $7. The changes
criminalize patients with the stroke of a pen, Larsen said.

MMAR has had its problems, but Ottawa could have dealt with it in a
better manner, Larsen said. The approximate 38,000 Canadians who
entered the system in good faith are now paying the price, he added,
noting ultimately they're easier to uncover than illegal growers
because of the registrar.

The whole transition places the RCMP in a difficult position, Coun.
Bryan Raiser said. Health Canada only provides police with names when
officers are about to execute a search warrant. Warrants take time,
which costs taxpayers money, Raiser said.

"Health Canada totally screwed over the RCMP," he said.

To keep cash in all levels of government's piggy banks, Ottawa should
legalize marijuana, he said.

"I don't want a single property-tax penny going to the Health Canada
issue," he said. "The federal government has to take responsibility.
They are spending billions of federal tax dollars only because of
their ideological stance."

Health Canada will provide guidance to current program participants so
they are aware of their responsibilities with regards to disposing of
their dried marihuana and plants, Health Canada spokesperson Sean
Upton stated in an email. The agency expects participants to comply
with federal laws, as well as provincial and municipal bylaws and
remediation requirements, he noted.

Under the current system, to inspect a private dwelling, a Health
Canada inspector must obtain consent before entering the home. When
the individual medical pot licences are repealed on March 31,
cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes in private dwellings
will be prohibited, and Health Canada will no longer have the
legislative authority to request the inspection of private dwellings,
Upton stated.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D