Pubdate: Thu, 30 Jan 2014
Source: Guardian, The (CN PI)
Page: Front Page
Copyright: 2014 The Guardian, Charlottetown Guardian Group Incorporated
Contact:  http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/174
Author: Nigel Armstrong

CITY COUNCIL HEARS FROM PUBLIC ON INCLUDING MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITY
IN BYLAWS

Charlottetown cannot say no to any proposal that might come its way
concerning construction of a medical marijuana facility, a public
meeting heard.

City council turned out in full Wednesday for a public meeting hosted
by the planning and heritage committee to look at three issues.

While the meeting began with standing room only from a crowd estimated
at 100, most left after discussion of zoning changes for an expansion
of Mel's Quick Mart on St. Peter's Road, and changes to allow the new
horse barn at the Charlottetown Driving Park.

That left close to 30 people to hear a proposal that the city of
Charlottetown amend its development bylaws to include a definition of
a medical marijuana production facility.

The proposed changes would limit such a facility to a heavy industrial
zone or a business park with some possibility of locating in the new
BioCommons zone.

There is no application for such a plant, but if one ever did come,
the city needs some regulations as to where it can go, the meeting was
told.

That did not sit well with Reverend Scott MacIsaac, who works with
offenders on P. E. I. in the criminal justice system.

"Do we as a city not have a responsibility, above and beyond the sheer
legality, to determine whether or not we as a society in Charlottetown
wish to have a facility such as this?" he said. "Is there not a
greater-good issue here?"

Allowing a production facility to be constructed sends a wrong message
to the wider community, beyond the medical marijuana users, he said.

Youths in the province will not get the medical message from any such
production facility, said MacIsaac.

"You are giving credence to the use of drugs," he said.

Mayor Clifford Lee entered the discussion, saying he had family that
suffered from cancer and found relief with marijuana.

He said he cannot go and walk into local pharmaceutical companies like
BioVectra and buy its medicines.

The marijuana facility would be legally permitted by federal law to
produce a medical product that offers relief to patients, said Lee.

"The city of Charlottetown has absolutely no authority to prohibit a
legal use such as this in the city," said Coun. Rob Lantz, chair of
the planning and heritage committee. "You can't say that it is never
going to happen in the City of Charlottetown.

"We have the authority, under our zoning and development bylaw, to
control where such a facility might be built and to appropriately
separate land uses that should not be adjacent."

Like schools or residential zones, said Lantz.

The new federal regulations that are scheduled to come into effect
April 1 will see home-grown and small scale medical marijuana
activities no longer permitted, replaced by larger scale, licensed
production plants.

"There is a lot of rules and regulations around these licences," said
Alex Forbes, the city's manger of planning.

He found 225 pages of regulations.

"Sale and distribution of medical marijuana cannot occur on site,"
said Forbes.

It must be sent by secure courier to the customer's
residence.

"There will be no drive thru," said Forbes. "It does not allow for
storefront or retail distribution."

Cat Murphy, representing an association called Maritimers Unite For
Medical Marijuana, reminded the meeting that the proposed changes are
not yet in effect and are subject to legal battles from pro-marijuana
advocates that say the regulations amount to unreasonable barriers.

She said most medical marijuana users are on pensions or income
support because of their illness.

She said they used to be able to grow their own or have a caretaker
grow it at a cost of about 22 cents per gram.

The new system is expected to result in a price of close to $ 10 per
gram, she said.

"That is a huge difference," said Murphy. "Who's going to pay
that?

"This is not just about making money," she said. "This is people's
medicine.

It is their human right. We are taking it away and we are
commercializing it, we are corporatizing it so that people can make
profit at the expense of the people who are weakest in society."  
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D