Pitt Meadows council wants to ensure a prohibition of retail marijuana sales in the city extends to businesses selling online to individuals.
At their May 28 meeting, councillors also spoke against allowing THC in products by Naturally Splendid, which has produced and sold hemp food products, from snack bars to pet food, on a wholesale basis.
Naturally Splendid is a cannabis processing facility in the Golden Ears Business Park in Pitt Meadows.
It’s proposal is to expand operations to include an analytical laboratory and facilities for the extraction and processing of cannabinoids from hemp.
The proposal has received first and second reading. A public hearing was held on Tuesday. The proposed rezoning bylaw will face potential amendments to address the concern of councillors. It can then proceed to third reading and final adoption.
Brian Carson, company co-founder, explained earlier this month that his business is interested in extracting cannabidiol (CBD), which is being researched for medical properties, is being widely used in a variety of products, and is selling for $12,500 per kilogram due to a shortage in Canada.
The company would relocate part of the existing operation to another building in the business park to do that work, but would need council approval.
Naturally Splendid also requested the city not preclude the business from using tetrahydocannabinol (THC), which is the principal psychoactive ingredient in cannabis), in the future. It does not use THC in its products at the present time, said Carson.
Lisa Grant, city director of community services, noted the applicant must meet Health Canada requirements for security clearance and odour controls. Few odour concerns were identified by staff, she said Tuesday.
Grant noted the company does not plan to sell products from its Pitt Meadows location, which is not permitted in the city. The bylaws would allow the processing, drying, storing, packaging and testing of cannabis.
However, Coun. Anena Simpson asked how potential online sales by Naturally Splendid would be impacted by the rezoning.
Grant said they would be allowed.
Mayor Bill Dingwall agreed that was a concern for him, because retail sales are not allowed in Pitt Meadows.
“For me, it [online sales] is just another method of retail sales, online or in person. Right now, we have a prohibition for that in Pitt Meadows,” said Dingwall.
He added allowing online sales to individuals doesn’t live up to the spirit and intent of the prohibition put in place by the last council, and endorsed by the current group.
Despite federal legalization of recreational marijuana, in 2018, council banned retail marijuana outlets in the city, with a bylaw to “regulate the production, processing, drying, storing, packaging, and distribution only of cannabis within the Agricultural Land Reserve and to prohibit the production, processing, drying, storing, packaging, distribution, and retail sales of cannabis in all other areas of the city.”
Coun. Michael Hayes agreed that online sales are akin to allowing retail sales, and also asked if council could preclude THC from being part Naturally Splendid’s business plan in future.
Nobody spoke for or against the proposal at the public hearing for the bylaw on Tuesday night.
Council referred the matter to staff to be brought back for a future meeting, to provide more information about amendments concerning THC and online retail sales.
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