By Armchair Mayor

McLeod’s private member’s bill on medical pot was common sense

Jun 1, 2018 | 5:39 AM

KAMLOOPS — A private member’s bill sponsored by Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod went down in flames Wednesday but she has the satisfaction of raising a reasonable point.

McLeod’s Bill C-330, which she introduced last December, would have amended the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to create regulations giving landlords more control over what goes on in their properties with respect to such drugs.

The production or sale of any controlled substance would have needed the written consent of the landlord. It relates to medical marijuana, not the upcoming legalization of recreational marijuana, and would have closed a gap in legislation.

There’s currently no requirement for approved medical marijuana users to get the consent of their landlords for producing their marijuana.

McLeod says enforcing safety rules for growing licensed medical pot is left up to municipalities, which is problematic because federal privacy rules prevent local governments from even knowing where it’s being grown.

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The MP says the rules are very different for medical marijuana than what will be brought into effect for recreational weed. For example, while there will be a limit of just four plants per household for recreational use, up to 120 could be grown in one place for medical purposes through multiple licensing and varying prescriptions.

The situation is so bad that some landlords might even take their properties off the rental market or sell them rather than take the risk of what might happen with tenants growing medical pot, McLeod says.

According to the MP, some landlords in her riding have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars due to cleanup bills, and they have little recourse. Many insurance companies won’t even offer coverage.

Some private member’s bills are far-fetched and don’t go anywhere based on their merits, others are logical and don’t go anywhere because of politics. This one falls in the latter category.

Licensed medical marijuana users have to be accommodated but, as McLeod asks, who’s looking out for the landlords? No doubt, she never expected her bill to make any headway with members of other parties, and she was right, but she deserves credit for trying.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.