To the editor:
After reading the opinions viewed within West Kelowna district council in today’s Capital News (District Defines Medical Marijuana Potential Sites, Sept. 26) I must weigh in on this debate without delay.
I may be a little bias, albeit concerned as well. I’m in the agricultural greenhouse industry.
I personally played the devil’s advocate initially and was not convinced until months of extensive research of both anecdotal and empirical studies (by credentialed and diverse experts from around the world) assured me of the merits of medicinal cannabis as sustainable, manageable medicine and treatment for patients, not the “pot-heads,” of society.
If council, advisors and staff are truly interested in providing balanced and educated decisions in regard to indoor “bunker” grow operations and product versus natural sunlight grown plants on ALR land, you should delve into the topic with some detail.
Providing security would definitely be easier than speculated for greenhouse facilities versus industrial sheds considering state of the art surveillance methods employed these days.
The biggest issue (to council and the community) should be ensuring that the industry doesn’t rebel and dig a deeper black market hole to hide in, and proliferate the underground covert economies of Kelowna, as in the past.
If you wish to consult on any particulars of this industry that you’re not familiar with, rest assured we have expertise in varied aspects and, yes, there have been templates for managing risks far greater than this issue. What, for example, are the litigious risks, I ask (as promoters) of pursuing a tourism campaign of encouraging more alcohol-affected drivers to the local winery circuit? Just look at the stats of deaths from various “legal” drugs, it is a telling and very real tale of shame in society today.
David Lalik,
West Kelowna
