Pubdate: Wed, 11 May 2016
Source: Campbell River Mirror (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Campbell River Mirror
Contact:  http://www.campbellrivermirror.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1380
Author: Kristen Douglas

COUNCIL CONTINUES WITH BYLAW AMENDMENT BANNING MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

City council is going ahead with making medical marijuana 
dispensaries illegal in Campbell River but it may still leave the 
door open to exceptions.

A bylaw amendment prohibiting all marijuana operations - including 
dispensaries - unless legally permitted through Health Canada, was 
given third reading by council at its Monday meeting. That puts the 
bylaw just one step away from adoption which could happen in as soon 
as two weeks.

Kevin Brooks, the city's development services supervisor, confirmed 
Monday that the bylaw amendment was recommended to city staff by local RCMP.

Coun. Michele Babchuk asked Brooks whether giving third reading to 
the amendment would close the door completely on medical marijuana 
dispensaries or if other options could still be pursued.

"Are we losing the opportunity to come up with options to create a 
Campbell River solution?" Babchuk asked. "I understand the 
legislation is not there, we're dealing with the legalities of it."

Brooks said that council can still re-open discussions around medical 
marijuana use and that, in fact, those discussions will come up again 
as the federal government has announced it will be moving to legalize 
marijuana use next year.

"The bylaw effectively adds a definition to the bylaw and prohibits 
that use within our community. It does not preclude use from other 
considerations in enabling some of this through controls like 
temporary use permits or something of that nature," Brooks said.

Coun. Charlie Cornfield pointed out that the bylaw does in fact read, 
'Marijuana operations are prohibited unless expressly permitted by this bylaw.'

He said that means it allows council, at any time, to take another 
look at the bylaw.

Coun. Larry Samson asked city staff to look into the possibility of 
issuing temporary use permits for dispensaries and to report back to 
council by August.

"Not saying we're going to go this way but get a report back from 
staff and see where it goes," Samson said.

With a temporary use permit, an applicant - in this case a dispensary 
operator - can apply to the city to consider a property use that's 
not permitted in the city's zoning bylaw. Each application would be 
evaluated individually by city staff through a legislative process 
and then passed on to council for final approval.

Brooks, in a report to council prior to Monday's meeting, did caution 
council that the RCMP does not support the city pursuing temporary 
use permits or zoning bylaw amendments to permit dispensaries until 
federal legislation changes.

"In some communities this enforcement has led to injunctive action 
resulting in increased legal costs, and the city may be placed in a 
challenging legal situation if it chooses to permit these uses under 
a TUP (temporary use permit) or zoning bylaw amendment," Brooks wrote 
in the report. "It should be noted that neither of these options 
would legalize the sale of marijuana, and the RCMP would maintain the 
jurisdiction and the latitude to follow-up with enforcement to shut 
down these operations at their discretion until such time the Federal 
Criminal Law is changed."

Council was prompted by the RCMP to address the issue of medical 
marijuana dispensaries after two popped up in the city in early 
April. Operating in the absence of any federal legislation, the 
dispensaries caught the eye of local RCMP who raided both Trees and 
WeeMedical dispensaries last month.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom