Pubdate: Fri, 21 Feb 2014
Source: Burnaby Now, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.burnabynow.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1592
Author: Cayley Dobie

SEARCHING FOR A PLACE TO GROW POT

He knows how much medical marijuana can help a dying man.

Several years ago, Martin Drobny's uncle was diagnosed with cancer, 
and he eventually died of the disease. Drobny credits medical 
marijuana for providing his uncle with some comfort before his death.

"And this is a guy who's never smoked pot in his life," Drobny says.

It was Drobny's mother who suggested his uncle try medical marijuana 
to help ease the symptoms of cancer.

After seeing the way it helped his uncle, Drobny, a North Vancouver 
firefighter, talked to his mom about the possibility of becoming a 
medical marijuana producer under Health Canada's soon-to-expire 
Marijuana Medical Access Regulations.

"It's such a good thing," he said. "It's incredible when you see the 
change in people's lives, and we just want to keep it going."

Under the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, Health Canada allowed 
private citizens to produce medical marijuana for personal use on a 
limited scale. Drobny became a licensed producer and was growing 
medical marijuana for friends and family with ongoing medical 
problems such as multiple sclerosis, spinal cord issues and cancer.

As of April 1, however, Health Canada's new Marijuana for Medical 
Purposes Regulations take effect, voiding all licences issued under 
the old regulations.

The new regulations move the production of medical marijuana out of 
backyards and residential areas and into large-scale manufacturing facilities.

"We actually have an opportunity to pursue our passions and make a 
living out of it," Drobny said.

Since Health Canada announced the changes to the medical marijuana 
production regulations, a number of companies have cropped up across 
the country. Drobny wants his company, Vancouver MediCann to be next.

But the application process hasn't been easy.

The new regulations require prospective companies find a facility in 
which to operate prior to applying for a licence.

Drobny and his partners have been struggling to find a municipality 
that will take them. In one case, Drobny said he and his partners 
were putting the finishing touches on a lease agreement when a 
municipality (Drobny wouldn't say on the record which one) revoked 
their approval.

"We've had flips on us where they said, 'Oh ya, everything's great, 
good,' ... and the day before we're going to sign our lease, we were 
just notified that actually (they're) putting on a 60-day hold 
because council wants to review everything," he said.

In this case, the municipality was worried MediCann would apply to be 
zoned agricultural, which they are eligible for, and pay only minimum 
municipal taxes.

Drobny told the municipality MediCann had no intention of applying to 
be zoned agricultural and would be operating as medium-to-heavy industry.

Without a location, MediCann can't submit its application, which has 
put Drobny and his partners in a type of limbo while they try and 
find a municipality - but they're hoping the City of Burnaby will be 
more cooperative.

According to Lou Pelletier, director of planning and building in 
Burnaby, council is currently in the process of amending the zoning 
bylaw to accommodate medical marijuana producers.

"The new bylaw provisions would require an applicant to obtain 
council approval through the rezoning process, with a required public 
hearing," he added in an email to the NOW in January.

Drobny sent a letter to council early in January and has since been 
working with city staff to find the most appropriate location for the 
MediCann facility.

"We just need our location, so we would just like councillors to be a 
little more open with us as far as where their train of thought is, 
because I can guarantee you we can mitigate any issues or questions," 
he said. "Once municipalities have a little more experience with 
(Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations) producers, I think 
they'll enjoy having them there because we will be the least 
problematic and the most regulated."

While he was surprised the federal government decided to change the 
way medical marijuana was produced, Drobny said it was a change for the better.

"This is a good thing, it really is," he said. "I'm a firefighter and 
going into a burning building caused by a grow-op, you can be dealing 
with who-knows-what chemicals."

Under the old regulations, there were no guidelines for growers, no 
inspections, no quality control, no inventory and no required 
security measures to protect the product. The new regulations, 
however, have hundreds of requirements, right down to tracking each 
plant's growth from seed to flower.

"This way it's going to be a fully-legitimized business. I think it's 
going to bring more credibility and with bigger money being brought 
into this new business, the focus is going to be on the science, the 
studies," he said.

Drobny and his partners can complete their application to send to 
Health Canada once MediCann secures a location for its facility and 
receives the necessary approval from Burnaby, Drobny added.

"We don't want to sign any lease until we have the municipality's 
blessing. We don't want to operate in a municipality where the 
government doesn't like us."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom