info@bcmla.com Vol.2 No.22 March 21, 2019

News From the EastNo, not from Toronto. The Kootenays! We became acquainted with Tracey Harvey, a Ph.D. student, a few months ago and were super-impressed with her efforts in the small scale space. Who knew that the traditional and historic cannabis industry could be the subject of serious academic research? And, that it could be applied in a practical way that could, hopefully, benefit prospective micro-applicants? Intrigued by Ms. Harvey’s work, we asked her to prepare a summary of what she is doing to assist the development of the micro-segment in BC, and the following is her response:

Transitioning to the new rural cannabis economy is a PhD project that aims to understand socioeconomic impacts of recreational cannabis legalization to rural regions of British Columbia (B.C.). Over the last 40 years or more, rural communities from the coastal islands, Fraser Valley, Okanagan and Kootenay region became multi-generational cannabis producing clusters. While the non-medical cannabis industry was largely ignored and excluded from economic contributions up until recently, it has been a significant, yet largely hidden part of the socioeconomic fabric of rural B.C. communities for decades. With the Kootenay region as the case study, the project goal is to understand how historically producing rural regions can effectively transition to the new legal economy.

Effectively addressing a transition requires an understanding of the size and structure of the rural cannabis industry because socioeconomic impacts are dependent on such details. To reliably identify these data, empirical evidence is required, which is understandably challenging to produce because of the cash economy and secrecy that partnered the industry in the pre-legalization era. That the pre-legalization cannabis industry’s economic contributions were substantial, based on a monopolistic competition market structure and mainly comprised of small entrepreneurial-type businesses, the consequences of these regions not transitioning are potentially devastating for some small communities. This research will uncover whether these ideas are true, and if so, the implications many B.C. rural regions face and what opportunities are best to pursue.

bcmla.com ! .1

This is worth the read

There is so much being written about the BC, Canadian and international industries these days - we find most of it boring and lacking any useful insight and perspective. However, we stumbled upon a new voice recently: https://populace.tantaluslabs.com/cannabis-legal-market-obstacles/

Ms. Bowyer has written one of the clearest and most insightful commentaries we have read on the current state of affairs and the provincial government’s potential role in shaping the future of the cannabis industry in BC. All of the pain points were identified in a knowledgeable way, with a good analysis of the potential solutions. She also wrote two other commentaries, which are just as thoughtful and well considered: https://populace.tantaluslabs.com/hybridyzing-cannabis-supply-chain/ , https://populace.tantaluslabs.com/experience-from-the-usa/

North Cowichan zoning bylaws

https://www.northcowichan.ca/assets/Municipal~Hall/Bylaws/Zoning%20Bylaw.pdf

The Municipality of North Cowichan amended its zoning bylaws in late-February, 2019. Cannabis production facilities are permitted in the I-1 (page 86) and I-2 (page 88) industrial zones. A municipal rep advised us they are also seriously considering the C-3 commercial services zone (page 80).

There is a fair bit of ALR in the municipality, but it appears there is also non-ALR rural residential and agricultural lands that could have been considered for cannabis production, but were not. The rep told us that the Municipality felt two industrial zones and one commercial zone provided “good options” for the locals to site their facilities. If the Municipality had permitted production in their non-ALR agricultural and rural residential zones, the “lack of community support” would have made the decision untenable. The rep further advised that the Municipality felt its zoning decisions were “in line with what other municipalities were doing in BC”. Overall, it’s not an optimal situation, but certainly three zones are better than ALR-only.

Unfortunately, the Municipality did not distinguish between micro and standard licensed facilities in their bylaws, choosing to lump all production together into one category, which we had urged them not to do several months ago. It doesn’t seem right to treat local, small scale businesses the same as non-local, large corporate entities.

YAY, SPRING IS HERE!

BC Micro License Association

info@bcmla.com Vol.2 No.22 March 21, 2019

This project is based on theoretical concepts of transitioning economies and stakeholder participation, arguing strategies that successful communities used to transition away from a precarious staples based industry, partnered with genuine stakeholder participation can be applied to the cannabis legalization transition today. Economic restructuring often accompanies a transition, which can be done more effectively when decisions are based on evidence and knowledge from lessons of the past.

Outcomes of this research include qualifying and quantifying the cannabis industry era pre-legalization in the rural Kootenay region so that evidence based decision-making is better supported moving forward. Additionally, lessons learned from other jurisdictions, as well as from historical transitioning economies will be identified and shared during the transition process.

Speaking to the importance of this industry locally, several events are gearing up in the near term. These include a B.C. small cannabis producers and processors co-operative meeting in Nakusp on March 16th, and Nelson on March 18th, a Cannabis Symposium hosted by Kootenay United Cannabis Association (KUCA) for local stakeholders and government officials aimed at identifying challenges and working towards collaborative solutions on April 11th, a BC Craft Supply stakeholder event on April 20th, and a panel presentation on small business development in the cannabis sector at the Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Government (AKBLG) convention on April 26-28th. The AKBLG panel will include a cannabis cultivation expert who is a KUCA Director, a local pro-pot Mayor, a cannabis compliance expert, and myself, a PhD rural researcher assessing impacts of this policy change. The purpose of the panel is to share considerations and regulations related to small business development in the cannabis sector and provide an opportunity to dispel any myths and engage varied stakeholders to support collaborative effort into the future.

How awesome would it be if her work could help form the basis of an actual provincial government policy or strategy, as said government apparently continues to find its way in effectively implementing the federal regulatory framework? Perhaps Ms. Harvey will have some insight to share and evidence-based suggestions for the Cannabis Secretariat when they meet later in April, 2019, during the Secretariat’s on-going listening tour.

Thank you, Ms. Harvey! The BCMLA looks forward to continuing its collaborative relationship with you and the Kootenay United Cannabis Association (KUCA) - a hard working micro-focused group that we will also feature in an upcoming newsletter.

News From the CentreIn our February newsletter, we had the following link to a story out of the Okanagan about an ALR non-farm use application that included 100,000 square feet of new concrete: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-co lumbia/tens ion- lumby-proposed-cannabis-fac i l i ty-agr icu ltura l -land-1.5005872

On March 6, 2019, the Board of District D of the RDNO actually signed off on this project. To be clear - they said “yes!”. Did we mention the project has a monstrously large new concrete footprint and that the ALC’s August, 2018 guideline requires new structures to have soil bases?

We spoke with a guy who lives in the District - he contacted us to see what we had to say about it. “OMFG" pretty much sums up our initial reaction. But, there are multiple, significant issues at play here, according to the guy - a pre-August, 2018 development permit application which had not been granted, a RDNO legal opinion that allegedly ok’ed a thumb’s down by the Board, a lack of meaningful public consultation by the parties concerned, and so on. So, now this goes upstairs to the ALC for their stamp of approval or disapproval - could be precedent setting. The guy we spoke with made it clear residents in the area are prepared to fight with all the tools they can muster and have accessed a legal fund for people who are challenging environmentally-related issues. They love cannabis, just not projects of this size, with new concrete on ALR in a residential area. Stay tuned - this could get very interesting.

bcmla.com ! .2

Abby / New West/ PG retail news

Abby - seems like private retail will be permitted. New West - ditto, but a hard pass on a government store. Burnaby - no on the private, yes to government run stores. PG - yes to government run stores, no word on the private:

https://www.abbynews.com/news/proposed-marijuana-retail-rules-coming-to-abbotsford-council-soon/

https://www.burnabynow.com/opinion/blogs/new-west-showing-burnaby-how-it-s-done-with-cannabis-stores-1.23664074

https://ckpgtoday.ca/article/552186/cannabis-coming-pg-big-way

Here we go again

https://globalnews.ca/news/5028986/vancouver-420-costs/

No one got hurt and the grass grew back.