Ottawa may be keen to legalize marijuana this summer but Coquitlam city council will need more information before allowing recreational cannabis to be sold in the municipality.
Council voted unanimously Monday to implement interim zoning regulations that will prohibit the production and sale of marijuana for recreational purposes when legalization is passed by the federal government. According to a staff report, the temporary move will give the city more time to consider long-term policy options and consult with residents and stakeholders.
“Once cannabis is removed from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act… non-medical cannabis could be sold lawfully in any zones where retail sales uses are permitted,” said the staff report. “These businesses could then be immune to subsequent zoning changes and the city could lose the ability to regulate any of these established businesses from a zoning perspective in the future.”
Instead, the interim regulations would essentially maintain the status quo around pot rules in Coquitlam.
Currently, medical marijuana can be grown only in the city’s M-2 industrial zone while cannabis dispensaries are prohibited.
While the federal government is moving ahead with legalization this summer, how municipalities regulate pot sales in their community depends a lot on the provincial government.
The provinces have been tasked with creating the framework for sales but, to date, no provincial legislation has been passed.
“The specific details of the regulatory framework that local governments will be working within will remain unclear until this information is made available,” said a city staff report.
Coquitlam has been grappling with the cannabis legalization issue since last year and council has made the creation of a regulatory framework for marijuana sales a B priority in its 2018 business plan.
In December, Jim McIntyre, Coquitlam’s general manager of planning and development, said a working group made up of staff from planning, bylaws and legal services had been researching and analyzing the issue.
Port Coquitlam and Port Moody are also waiting for more information from the provincial and federal governments before moving ahead with their own regulations.
Jennifer Little, PoCo’s manager of planning, told The Tri-City News in December that currently, the city has banned the sale and distribution of recreational marijuana and marijuana products. But she added that once the new federal and provincial laws are in place, council may “revisit these restrictions to determine the appropriate regulations, policies and processes.”
Port Moody said at the time that it has yet to consider the marijuana issue and council has provided no direction.
@gmckennaTC
