About 50 Mountain View County residents attended a Jan. 10 information meeting hosted by Wild Rose Conservative MP Blake Richards regarding a medical marijuana grow operation being proposed for a rural property north of Cremona.
Held at the Gold and Silver Centre in Cremona, the meeting saw Richards outline new federal rules for the growing of medical marijuana, following by questions and comments from those in attendance.
Where in the past patients requiring medical marijuana could grow it themselves in their homes, under the new medical marihuana access program (MMAP) the cannabis must be grown in facilities overseen by Health Canada, said Richards.
Several of those at the Jan. 10 meeting voiced objections to the proposed Cremona-area facility, saying they have security, environmental and other concerns.
The exact location of the grow operation is not being released due to security concerns.
Dale Lesack, a director with Releaf Inc., the company building the facility, says it will produce medical marijuana for cancer patients and others under the MMAP, which comes into effect in March.
Mountain View County has already granted a permit for the construction of a greenhouse at the site.
Lesack said an application for a licence for the facility has been made with Health Canada. If that licence is granted, the facility would meet all safety and security rules set out under MMAP, he said.
As a requirement of the application for the grow operation through Health Canada, Releaf Inc. has already sent a notice of intent to Mountain View County, as well as to local RCMP and fire department officials.
No representatives from Releaf or Mountain View County attended the Jan. 10 meeting in Cremona. Asked following the meeting whether the parties were invited to attend, MP Richards said yes.
Cremona-area resident Mary Thompson, who lives near the proposed grow operation, told the meeting that residents have numerous concerns with the project.
She said those concerns include the following:
ï Public safety. "We are 25 miles from the nearest RCMP detachment in Didsbury,î she said. "Our local police department is overtaxed already and are not out there patrolling all the time. Will there be an increase in crime here?î
ï Water. "How much water will be needed to operate a large-scale project like the one proposed? Where does the water go?î she said.
ï Odour from the plant affecting the "health or well-being of adjacent landowners,î she said.
ï Fire. "There is an increased risk for fire and our local fire department is a small mostly volunteer-run facility with limited equipment,î she said.
ï Removal of farmland in a "riparian area suited for farming and the cattle industry,î she said.
ï Land prices and quality of life for adjacent landowners. "Would you buy property next to this marijuana grow facility?î she said.
Thompson called the proposed facility "a travestyî and said the "whole idea of this project in a rural area is wrong.î
"Our great concern is public safety and an element of crime that will surely follow this project,î she said. "Adjacent landowners heard rumours of this happening but were never consulted or considered in the effects which will change forever our peaceful farming community.
"We are in awe that a project of such magnitude can be proceeding without any public input or municipal involvement.î
Thompson has sent letters to MP Richards, Health Minister Rona Ambrose, and Health Canada expressing concerns.
During the Jan. 10 meeting several of those in attendance called on MP Richards to stop the facility. In response, Richards said he has no authority to do so.
He called on residents to contact Mountain View County councillors with their concerns.
"It's up to the county to decide where they (grow operations) can be located,î said Richards. "I would encourage conversations with Mountain View County.î
In an email sent to Thompson prior to the Jan. 10 meeting, Division 2 Mountain View County councillor Patricia McKean said the county has sought legal advice on the issue and was told that the county cannot prohibit the facility.
"As for this one, it has its approved permit for construction and we cannot change the bylaw retroactively. The county has jurisdiction over land use. If someone wishes to build a greenhouse we provide the permit for the greenhouse, not for what is grown inside the greenhouse,î said McKean.
In an email sent to Thompson following the Jan. 10 meeting, MVC reeve Bruce Beattie said, "We cannot pass bylaw retroactively, therefore, given this proposal met all our land use bylaw requirements we cannot now change the rules. We do not have the power to prohibit the operations.î
Beattie said the county will "continue to communicate with all relevant departments in the federal government regarding our citizens' concerns. I hope you and all the affected residents will do the same. The changes to the (county's) land use bylaw will be put in place before any further development permits for such an operation will be accepted.î
Construction on the new greenhouse was underway last week, said McKean.
