With recreational marijuana legal across the country yesterday, candidates for Hope’s elected offices are grappling with what to do with a prohibition on the sale of the substance.
Two of Hope’s mayoral candidates say they will put their vote towards repealing the bylaw amendment the District of Hope currently has on the books, which prohibits ‘use or approval of any planning or business related retail sale or dispensing of cannabis’. The prohibition, which came into force this summer, also covers the sale of ‘cannabis linked paraphernalia or by-products (e.g. edibles or infused liquids, etc.).’
District staff and elected officials have stressed this prohibition a temporary one.
READ MORE: Retail sales of cannabis prohibited in Hope, for now
“Municipalities are facing pressures by groups and individuals to get on board by providing areas or zones to provide that recreational marijuana,” said John Fortoloczky, the district’s chief administrative officer, at a July 9 council meeting.
“This gives the district the best tools to deal with illegal start-ups, ideally give you the buffer and the time, and the public the transparent knowledge that there’s a pause. You as a district have to tackle the big decision as to a) does the community want to have recreational marijuana dispensed or sold and then b) how do we go forward to allow for, in the zoning and bylaws to have to change to dovetail with this.”
Mayoral candidates Peter Robb and Cindy Young both said they would vote to repeal the prohibition, with incumbent Wilfried Vicktor saying it would be premature to say yes or no before the provincial regulations and the results of a local survey on cannabis sales are examined by the new mayor and council.
Robb said he would repeal or bring forth the prohibition as ‘it’s coming whether we like it or not’ and it is best to be prepared for it.
Robb would like to see a bylaw which limits the number of stores selling cannabis based on the population, with one store per 3-3,500 residents. This would limit the number of stores in Hope to two. Robb is also in support of these stores being privately owned, not government-run.
“Give the opportunity to a couple of entrepreneurs, see what they can do. The money stays locally, they hire local people. Sometimes a government location, the people aren’t living in the community, they are living outside,” he said.
READ MORE: Second marijuana dispensary to open up on Chilliwack First Nation reserve
Young said she would vote to repeal the prohibition ‘with great reserve.’ As a cancer survivor who has had to use medical marijuana in pill form, Young said she is in support of cannabis for chronic pain or medical issues. She is more hesitant about recreational use.
“I would need to see more information on how it would be run, I need to see more information on how it can be controlled. Because I simply don’t want to open it up to anybody walking in there and saying ‘I want some marijuana’,” she said.
Incumbent Wilfried Vicktor said if elected, he would need to review the survey results in detail, referring to the results of a survey the district mailed out to residents with questions on retail sales of non-medicinal cannabis, as well as the expectations from the province.
He would then decide, together with the six councillors elected, on what he called an ‘important and divisive issue.’
“The survey results were obviously divided. There are people that feel there should be no dispensary and there are others that feel that there should be,” he said.
RELATED: Majority of residents who responded to survey support marijuana sales in Hope
Bylaw No. 1428 by Ingrid Peacock on Scribd
All candidates for council were asked via email whether they would support repealing the prohibition outlined in bylaw amendment 1428. Of the candidates who answered— Sharlene Hinds, Scott Medlock, Steven Patterson, Matthew Steberl, Heather Stewin, Paul Stock and Sung Yun Wong — stated, if elected, they would vote to repeal it.
Candidates Patterson and Hinds said the District needs to move quickly to take advantage of economic opportunities in this newly-legal industry.
“Opportunities like those being created by the legalization will not last forever and this should be a wake-up call to council,” Hinds stated.
“For a town looking for economic development, I think we are a little behind on the drafting of appropriate bylaws to integrate this industry into our local economy,” Patterson stated. “We have had plenty of notice that this is coming, I see the current bylaw as an unprepared reactionary measure to something that has been in the works for years.”
With some candidates saying the district is late to the party, incumbent Scott Medlock said while he hopes to see the District open for this business in early January, he urged a repeal of the prohibition only when the district is ready.
“This topic touches on several bylaws including the Good Neighbor Bylaw, Business Licensing Bylaw and the Fees and Charges Bylaw,” he stated. “It is something that we need to do correctly and only once and I am not willing to rush into it if our staff are uncomfortable with our current bylaws.”
While she would have liked to have seen more responses, Stewin said the feedback received supports the district moving forward.
Stock urged a wait-and-see approach. “The district will eventually have to allow government and non-government cannabis stores to open. However, being pragmatic, I also believe that we should wait for six to ten months and watch how other cities that are ‘first adopters’ deal with the transition period,” he stated.
Saturday, Oct. 20, residents of Hope will vote in the District of Hope’s seven elected representatives —one mayor and six councillors. Voters can cast their ballot from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hope recreation centre.
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