420 Warrior
Well-Known Member
A proposal to move medical marijuana grow-ops away from private residences on the Sunshine Coast has raised a few eyebrows locally.
Expected to come to vote next month, the 'medical marijuana production zoning' bylaw would give the district municipality the ability to move residential medical marijuana growers to industrial properties -- and more importantly get them to register for business licences -- for those serving multiple clients.
The public wouldn't have access to the information, but city and provincial inspectors could then be able to ensure the properties are safe and "up to code." The bylaw aims to address common fire hazard and burglary risks associated with residential legal grow-ops.
"There are safety concerns about too many people knowing about where it is," said Sechelt community planner Andre Boel. "The fire department would know for sure, and possibly the police."
While establishing some kind of legal grow-op database -- currently unavailable without warrants because of privacy laws -- would benefit both Vancouver's fire and police departments, according to their officials, Vancouver City Coun. Kerry Jang isn't sure.
"As soon as you identify where something is, when there's still organized crime involvement, it's a recipe for trouble," he said Monday.
"Our industrial zones in Vancouver are right next door to residential zones, and bullets and weapons often don't respect boundaries."
Jang adds he's more interested in full government regulation and taxation.
Sechelt's proposed bylaw is worded to "require" larger scale legal growers to register and move to industrial properties. However, Boel admitted the requirement is toothless, as the city can't force medical growers to reveal their identities and locations, both protected by federal privacy laws.
Prince George had also toyed with a similar bylaw change, according to the Sechelt report, but dropped the idea because of concerns over the federal jurisdiction.
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Vancouver, BC
Source: Vancouver 24hours
Author: Michael Mui
Contact: news@24hrs.ca
Copyright: 2012 Canoe Inc
Website: vancouver.24hrs.ca
Expected to come to vote next month, the 'medical marijuana production zoning' bylaw would give the district municipality the ability to move residential medical marijuana growers to industrial properties -- and more importantly get them to register for business licences -- for those serving multiple clients.
The public wouldn't have access to the information, but city and provincial inspectors could then be able to ensure the properties are safe and "up to code." The bylaw aims to address common fire hazard and burglary risks associated with residential legal grow-ops.
"There are safety concerns about too many people knowing about where it is," said Sechelt community planner Andre Boel. "The fire department would know for sure, and possibly the police."
While establishing some kind of legal grow-op database -- currently unavailable without warrants because of privacy laws -- would benefit both Vancouver's fire and police departments, according to their officials, Vancouver City Coun. Kerry Jang isn't sure.
"As soon as you identify where something is, when there's still organized crime involvement, it's a recipe for trouble," he said Monday.
"Our industrial zones in Vancouver are right next door to residential zones, and bullets and weapons often don't respect boundaries."
Jang adds he's more interested in full government regulation and taxation.
Sechelt's proposed bylaw is worded to "require" larger scale legal growers to register and move to industrial properties. However, Boel admitted the requirement is toothless, as the city can't force medical growers to reveal their identities and locations, both protected by federal privacy laws.
Prince George had also toyed with a similar bylaw change, according to the Sechelt report, but dropped the idea because of concerns over the federal jurisdiction.
Location: Vancouver, BC
Source: Vancouver 24hours
Author: Michael Mui
Contact: news@24hrs.ca
Copyright: 2012 Canoe Inc
Website: vancouver.24hrs.ca
