Farmland should go to pot, say growers

SATURDAY, 15 MARCH 2014 02:00 DON PLANT Kelowna Daily Courier
Cannabis growers are seeing red over Okanagan communities blocking medical-marijuana operations from their farmland. West Kelowna's council voted this week to restrict commercial pot producers to industrial land. The City of Kelowna, which holds a public hearing on Tuesday, is poised to do the same. People who've applied to set up licensed factories in the Valley are aggravated by what they say is ignorance of the new rules that control how they operate. "Business-wise, it's a ridiculous decision," said one grower who requested anonymity because his licence application is pending. "They should open it up and embrace it. The demonizing should stop. The gangsters are not going to get in here. It's the most difficult business to get approved in." Growing medical marijuana meets the definition of farm practices under B.C. legislation. But the stigma surrounding weed is hazing politicians' view of what promises to be a lucrative industry for farmers struggling to make a buck, said the grower, whom we'll call Brian. He and his business partners have invested $750,000 in outfitting a building on four hectares of farmland outside Kelowna in the Central Okanagan Regional District. He's confident Health Canada will allow his company to produce enough medical marijuana to supply more than 1,000 patients starting later this year. Forcing growers to raise their plants in "bunkers" on industrial land instead of in greenhouses gives the edge to foreign competitors such as Jamaica, Spain and Uruguay because they can sell cannabis for far less, Brian said. He estimates the bills to power the grow lights indoors could amount to $8,000 to $10,000 a month. "We'll be competing against guys who are growing it outside. . . . It's not feasible to do it under all those lamps in a warehouse and compete with the rest of the planet who do it out in fields. We can grow all we want in industrial areas, but that's going to be a lot of wasted money and a lot of wasted power," he said. More than 1,000 Kelowna adults have federal approval to grow pot at home for medical reasons. Their licences are about to expire, and Health Canada has ordered them to dispose of their plants at the end of the month. The department is switching to large-scale producers so people allowed to use cannabis for a medical condition continue getting a supply. It just licensed a commercial operator in the Vernon area - the fifth in the province. In the Zone Produce plans to start selling medical marijuana in mid-June for $5 to $8 a gram. The company's website states it's a family-operated farm that produces organic strains such as Hindu Kush and Green Ogopogo "in a clean, safe manner." The City of Vernon is considering a proposal to zone the large pot factories both industrial and agricultural. Staff recommend that council define what qualifies as medical-marijuana production facilities and permit them in the agricultural land reserve as well as light industrial areas, said city planner Dale Rintoul. About 10 federal licences have been granted so far across Canada. Municipalities are wringing their hands over how a commercial factory might affect their social fabric if a licence is approved in their community. (more)