Kelowna could get 15 medical marijuana facilities

 6:47 pm, Mon Jan 26, 2015.Steve MacNaull Kelowna Daily Courier
To get ready for an onslaught of medical marijuana applications, the City of Kelowna is tweaking one of its zoning bylaws. "We have no operators yet, but 15 (medical marijuana producers) have made requests to the city," property officer Ryan Smith told the city council meeting on Monday. They have to go through Health Canada before the city can consider their applications." Medical marijuana could prove to be a lucrative, legal cash crop in Kelowna, right up there with apples, cherries and grapes for wine. Bylaw 8000 was already in place in anticipation that operators would want to set up medical marijuana growing facilities in Kelowna.It stipulates that such operations be on properties zoned in one of four industrial zones — business industrial, general industrial, heavy industrial and central industrial.Plus, it provides a definition of a medical marijuana production facility "for the producing, processing, selling, providing, shipping, delivering and destroying of marijuana and must be licensed under the Health Canada Marihuana for Medical Purposed Regulations."The bylaw will also allow analytical testing at medical marijuana facilities. Analytical testing is defined as: "The validated testing, research and development or quality control of a substance or product carried out in a laboratory operation and must be licensed under Health Canada or controlled drugs and substances regulation of any substance or product being tested." The new bylaw also recognizes that such analytical testing may be done in a medical marijuana facility, in a lab adjacent to such a facility or in a centralized lab that a number of facilities may share. Mayor Colin Basran asked Smith if the city was also considering allowing medical marijuana facilities on agricultural land. A1 is expected to be added to the list of acceptable zones. City council passed the first reading of the amended Bylaw 8000 unanimously. Citizens can give their input on the bylaw amendments at a public hearing next month. If council is satisfied residents are in favour of the changes, it can pass the bylaw with second and third readings and final adoption.
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List of Authorized Licensed Producers under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (15)