Following extensive discussions during the past couple of months, City of Quesnel council approved first reading of the proposed Zoning Amendment Bylaw 1845 at the Feb. 20 council meeting.
If passed, the bylaw would update the language/terminology for cannabis, and would separate production/distribution zoning from retailing activities zoning.
Through a series of amendments, the City will be prohibiting the production of any retailing activities in all zones within the City boundaries.
• A cannabis definition would be added: as defined in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of Canada, or any regulations made pursuant to the Act, and includes and products containing cannabis.
• A new definition of cannabis production: means premises where cannabis (whether medical or recreational) is cultivated, propagated, harvested, tested, produced, made, sorted, packaged, imported, exported, destroyed, transported, shipped or delivered as regulated by under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act, including marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, or any subsequent legislation for the purposes of retail.
• A new definition of Cannabis-related Retail: means a premises where cannabis or cannabis products (whether medical or recreational) are sold as a product or permitted to be consumed by persons attending the premises as a service.
In the backgrounder, staff noted that in order to effectively manage “dispensaries” (the province doesn’t want to use the word dispensaries, so it will have to be given a new name) both prior to and after their operations have been decriminalized, the intent of the amendments is to ensure council retains the ability to control where non-medical cannabis sales occur, similar to rules which govern private retail alcohol sales.
Mayor Bob Simpson said the provincial government is “scratching its head” about what to do about retail applications in the rural and unincorporated areas.
He added the Cariboo Regional District put a moratorium on any retail application approvals until it understands what’s going to happen with the retail outlets.
Simpson noted that with every application that goes in, the Liquor Licensing Branch won’t accept the application without a resolution from a local government.
In conjunction with moving the City’s bylaw forward, the mayor wants the City to write a letter to the federal and provincial governments “asking them how they’re going to help us extinguish the illegal so-called dispensaries in advance of the decriminalization the retailing of cannabis….
“We have a lot of work in front of us. the Senate is stalling and they’re pushing it out into at least the fall, so we’re getting a little bit of grace [time] to try to do this right.”
The letter motion was also passed.