PLANNING IMPLICATIONS FOR CANNABIS LEGISLATION Zone 7 & 8 Spring Workshop April 19, 2018
Legislative History
Legislative History
Legislative History
Current Status Cannabis currently only permitted for medical use About 70,000 Canadians registered for medical use Available only through prescription Medical cannabis available only through mail order purchase Possession or trafficking otherwise illegal Cannabis may be grown only by licensed producers or registered persons
Bill C-45: An Act respecting Cannabis: effective July 1, 2018 Purchase fresh or dried cannabis, cannabis oil, plants and seeds for cultivation from either a provincially or territorially regulated retailer, or where this option is not available, directly from a federally licensed producer; Possess up to 30 grams of dried legal cannabis or equivalent in public; Share up to 30 grams or equivalent of legal cannabis and legal cannabis products with other adults; Cultivate up to 4 plants total per household); and Alter cannabis at home in order to prepare varying types of cannabis products (e.g., edibles) for personal use provided that no dangerous organic solvents are used in the process.
Ontario Bill 174 Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act, Smoke Free Act, 2017, Highway Traffic Act 1. Provincial Retailer Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS): 40 stores to open in 2018 increasing to 150 by 2020 2. Minimum age for recreational consumer in Ontario is 19: same rules apply for sale, identification to minors. Minors may not possess or grow cannabis 3. No consumption in public places, in a vehicle or on a boat or any prescribed place
LCBO Retail Sites: Ontario Cannabis Store Ajax Barrie Belleville Brampton Brantford Burlington Cambridge Chatham-Kent Guelph Hamilton Kingston Kitchener Lindsay (Kawartha Lakes) London Mississauga Niagara Falls Oakville Oshawa Ottawa Peterborough Sault Ste. Marie St. Catharines Sudbury Thunder Bay Toronto Vaughan Waterloo Windsor Whitby
Emerging Issues Increased impairment, driver safety, workplace safety Development of cannabis production facilities to support recreational consumer demands Localized cultivation or growing of cannabis Development of retail sales services: Recreational Cannabis Provincially Regulated through LCBO (dry bud, oil and gels) Expansion of cannabis consumer products: cigarettestyle vape products, cannabis beer and beverages (tea, energy drinks), medically related cosmetics and pharmaceuticals such as THC creams and liquids, sleep aids and pain relievers, cannabis edibles (2019?)
Municipal Role Local Police Services: law enforcement for impairment: - may extend to work place environment
Impairment Controls: Drug Recognition
Impairment in the Workplace Consumption of cannabis (smoking) not permitted in public; however, municipalities may be faced with employees who arrive impaired or may be impaired through medically prescribed cannabis Federal Cannabis Act silent on work place safety Challenge to municipal employers is to distinguish between prescribed cannabis use and recreational use Suggestion is to treat cannabis impairment like alcohol and develop/prepare policies to prohibit the showing up under the influence of cannabis during working hours (i.e. zero tolerance) May not resolve a lunch hour toke but signals municipal concern over worker safety and may act as deterrent until better impairment techniques are determined (means training for Police Services, medical lab staff as well as new testing equipment)
Land Use Controls (Planning Act/Municipal Act) Regulation of commercial and personal cultivation or production of cannabis Regulation of retail facilities for sale of cannabis and cannabisrelated products Controlling location of recreational consumption (smoking) (i.e. bylaws/signage to confirm that smoking in public places prohibited)
Cannabis/Marijuana Growth Controls : Municipal Act To prevent illegal growth of marijuana (Grow-0p)
Impact of Grow-ops
Regulation of Commercial Cultivation ISSUES: Whether to permit or prohibit commercial cultivation of cannabis (small scale in-home production through major industrial or agricultural operation) Whether public utilities such as hydro and water supply are adequate for the scale of the operation Whether the location presents security issues for local enforcement Whether the location is too close to sensitive land uses particularly those frequented by children or minors (i.e. school, day nursery, institutional use or a recreational use including a park, playground, sports field or other similar facility normally frequented by a minor) Whether the scale of the operation will impact on traffic (shipping and receiving) Whether building meets Ontario Building Code and Fire Code
Regulation of Cultivation Note: Municipalities not obliged to accommodate federally licensed production facility
Regulation of Personal Use Cultivation Cannabis Act allows growth of up to 4 plants in a household May be considered as an incidental growth to other plants, OR Municipalities may choose to prohibit personal use cultivation or regulate through licensing or zoning (i.e. by redefining an accessory use to a dwelling to permit or prohibit cannabis cultivation for personal use)
Should a Municipality Permit or Prohibit Retail Sales of Cannabis? Depends on shared provincial and municipal role Initially sales of recreational cannabis will be limited to LCBO regulated outlets called Ontario Cannabis Stores and are relegated to larger centres (40 by 2018) Expansion of retail sales may mean distribution at all LCBOs (150 stores) by 2020 (out of 660 LCBO stores and further 212 LCBO Agency stores) Provincial Cannabis Act, 2017 limits sale to Ontario Cannabis Corporation No current authority to permit sale of cannabis products, although this may start to occur in 2019 (i.e. cigarette-style vape products, cannabis beer and beverages (tea, energy drinks), medically related cosmetics and pharmaceuticals such as THC creams and liquids, sleep aids and pain relievers, cannabis edibles)
Policy Options Total prohibition of production (cultivation) and retail activities Use existing rubric of zoning controls: example: definition of an industrial use or retail store may be broad enough to permit production and sales activities with no amendment. Largely depends on federal licensing to legitimize activity. Define production and retail cannabis land uses and amend ZBL to pre-zone for permitted uses (i.e. Licensed Cannabis Production Facility permitted in a General Industrial (M1) Zone, etc.) Define production and retail cannabis land uses and require rezoning to control location, scale of operation and potentially the number of retail operations and the type/size of signs.
Policy Options Licensing under the Municipal Act may be a way to control days and hours of operation of the business, the age of individuals on the premises (i.e. 19 or older), the keeping of records, or the display and advertising of products (i.e. concealing products like concealing tobacco products, no exterior or storefront signs etc.)
Planning Tools Zoning By-law is planning tool to regulate land use (use of land, buildings and Structures) Zoning By-law may regulate cannabis-related land uses such as: CANNABIS RETAIL STORE OR DISPENSARY (Ontario Cannabis Store) MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITY CANNABIS PRODUCTION FACILITY HOME BASED BUSINESS GREENHOUSE, NURSERY MARKET GARDEN Zoning by-law may permit or prohibit any of the above land uses
Sample Zoning Regulations DEFINITIONS: Cannabis means a cannabis plant, including the phytocannabinoids produce by or found in such a plant regardless of whether that part has been processed or not and any substance or mixture of substances that contains or has on it and part of such a plant and any substance that is identical to a phytocannabinoid produced by or found in such a plant regardless of how the substance was obtained. Marijuana shall have the same definition. Cannabis Retail Store or Dispensary means any use of land, building, structure or part thereof used for the retail sale of cannabis or any product or substance produced in whole or part from cannabis, and shall be deemed to include (or not include) a licensed Ontario Cannabis Retailer under the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act, 2017
DEFINITIONS: Sample Zoning Regulations Medical Marijuana Facility means a premise approved and regulated under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations. Licensed Cannabis Production Facility means the use of land, buildings or structures for the cultivation, processing, testing, destructions, packaging and shipping of marijuana used for medical purposes as approved and regulated by Health Canada.
DEFINITIONS: Sample Zoning Regulations Home Based Business means the operation of a legal business or occupation within a dwelling and/or an accessory building or structure but shall not (or shall) include Cannabis Retail Store or Dispensary. Greenhouse or Nursery means the use of land, buildings or structures used primarily for the cultivation of plants but does not (or does) include a Licensed Cannabis Production Facility. Market Garden means the use of land for the commercial growing of vegetables or fruits but shall not (or shall) include a Licensed Cannabis Production Facility.
GENERAL PROVISION: Section X Cannabis Sample Zoning Regulations 1. For the purposes of this By-law, a Medical Marijuana Facility, a Licensed Cannabis Production Facility, and a Cannabis Retail Store or Dispensary are prohibited uses except as otherwise permitted through rezoning. 2. No Medical Marijuana Facility, a Licensed Cannabis Production Facility, and a Cannabis Retail Store or Dispensary shall be permitted within X meters of the nearest boundary of a lot occupied by a school, day nursery, institutional use or a recreational use including a park, playground, sports field or other similar facility normally frequented by a minor.
Sample Zoning Regulations 3. Not more than one (1) (or specify the #) Cannabis Retail Store(s) or Dispensary(ies) shall be permitted in the General Commercial (C1) Zone
Property Standards A property Standards by-law passed under Section 15.1 of the Building Code Act may be used to address the impacts of mould or other physical deterioration caused by a grow-op or (legal) cultivation
Summary Long history leading to the legalization of medical and recreational cannabis Use of cannabis restricted or illegal until July 1, 2018 in Ontario Recreational cannabis only available in Ontario through provincial retailer with many potential new products yet to be regulated Personal use restricted to 30 grams, to growing 4 plants per household and to those 19 and over. No public consumption Municipalities/province will share enforcement for impairment Municipalities left to decide on local land use (zoning) controls for cultivation (production) and retail sales for cannabis
Questions Glenn Tunnock Box 2032, 57 Foster Street PERTH ON K7H 3M9 Tel. 613 464-8805 gtunnock@tunnockconsulting.ca