POT BYLAW SPARKS LEGAL FIRE

Chilliwack is looking at a bylaw to stop licenced medical marijuana
growers from growing pot for other licence-holders, "similar" to one
introduced recently in Pitt Meadows.

Coun. Chuck Stam, who chairs Chilliwack's public safety committee,
said abuse of the medical marijuana licensing system is a growing
problem here, with several licence-holders "parking" their licences
on one property, growing more plants than legally permitted.

And Health Canada is not living up to a commitment to inspect the
sites to ensure compliance with the rules, he said.

But medical marijuana users and activists say it's unfair to "punish"
all medical marijuana patients because of the actions of a few, and
they'll challenge the Pitt Meadows bylaw in court.

"We don't need new laws to punish all patients for the actions of one
or two who break the rules," said Norm Smith, a medical marijuana
licence-holder in the Fraser Valley.

He said many patients like him suffer physical disabilities that
prevent them from growing their own marijuana.

"(The bylaw) is going to make life tough for people who already have
the toughest life out there," he said, pointing out that medical
marijuana is authorized by doctors only as a "medication of last resort."

Last month, PItt Meadows council gave preliminary approval to a bylaw
amendment that clarifies that growing pot for other medical marijuana
patients is a home-based business, which is already banned in
residential zones.

Growing medical marijuana with a licence will still be permitted in the city.

Pitt Meadows director of operations Kim Grout said the bylaw is aimed
at "commercial-type undertakings where someone is being paid to grow
for someone else."

Under the federal regulations, a licence-holder is allowed to grow
marijuana for two other licence holders.

Police in Maple Ridge recently seized 1,744 pots plants at a medical
marijuana grow-op that was licenced for a maximum 73 plants.

But Smith said most medical marijuana growers are "very much
'by-the-book' because they don't want to lose their licence ... they
play by the rules."

Dana Larsen, a pot activist who operates a medical marijuana
dispensary in Vancouver, said if municipalities are worried about
potential hazards of home grow operations, they should licence and
regulate them.

"They would be no more dangerous than growing orchids in your home," he said.

City inspectors could visit the home, he added, and for a fee verify
the grow operation meets safety standards, "instead of driving them
underground and making it more dangerous."

Vancouver lawyer Kirk Tousaw, executive director of the pro-marijuana
Beyond Prohibition Foundation, agreed.

He believes the Pitt Meadows bylaw is "discriminatory" and "based on
a whole bunch of myths and misconceptions about producing marijuana."

"I certainly think it's not within the jurisdiction of
municipalities," he said, and may be a violation of constitutional rights.

A Health Canada spokesman declined comment on the legal questions
raised by the Pitt Meadows bylaw, but said the department is
"monitoring the situation" and is considering reforms to the access
to medical marijuana regulations.

But Victoria city councillor Philippe Lucas said he'd be "amazed" if
Health Canada took any action against the Pitt Meadows bylaw, as the
department does "as little as possible to meet their constitutional
obligations."

He said one million in Canada use medical marijuana, but only 5,000
licences are issued, while in Oregon the same number of licences are
issued among 35,000 users.

"We have some significant problems with the bureaucracy," he said.

But Lucas said he has "every confidence that users will challenge
these laws" being considered by municipalities.