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Residential Cultivation of Cannabis

Mar 17, 2021

Photo Credit: CBC

If you have any issues related to Cannabis sale or production (odour and security) please use the Cannabis Reporting Form.

Dec 2, 2021

Council directed the public service to look at details regarding land use regulations for retail operations for cannabis.

 Oct 13, 2001

The public service is to prepare a report with recommendations to Council regarding a preferred approach to the regulation of medical cannabis cultivation, with consideration given to amending zoning bylaws and introducing a licensing regime. The public service is to report back within 180 days (Spring 2022) with recommendation on how to proceed with regulations.

March 16, 2021

The Public Service presented a Cannabis Cultivation in Residential Areas report.
Councillors Sharma, Eadie and I then brought forward a motion requesting further action. We expect a report back in October 2021.

Thank you Winnipeg Free Press for covering this important issue.

Councillors plot limitations on pot growth in residential areas

By: Joyanne Pursaga
Posted:  Tuesday, Mar. 16, 2021

A trio of city councillors is seeking options to rein in large medical marijuana grow operations within some Winnipeg homes.
A new motion calls for city staff to explore potential new rules to ban medical cannabis cultivation entirely in residential areas or limit the number of plants that can be grown in each house.The public service should also provide zoning bylaw options to regulate or prohibit nuisance odours or any other “health hazards” from homes where cannabis is being cultivated, according to the motion developed by Couns. Ross Eadie (Mynarski), Janice Lukes (Waverley West) and Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan).

“Ultimately, what we’re talking about here is, if things are getting out of hand, somebody needs to be enforcing rules,” Eadie told council’s property and development committee Monday.
The motion also asks city staff to explore ways to regulate ventilation, electrical and other building systems to minimize odours, moisture, mould and any other impact of pot growth.
In an email, Eadie said he believes homes that devote at least half their space to medical cannabis no longer meet the desired use for a residential area.
“At 50 per cent and up, the main use of the property becomes medical cannabis cultivation/production, not a place to live,” wrote Eadie.

Council’s property and development committee voted unanimously in favour of the idea Monday night. It next moves on to full council for approval.
If accepted, a report would be expected in 180 days.
Several Winnipeg residents lobbied city hall for action on medical marijuana grow operations in recent months, which they blame for creating strong odours and safety concerns.
“The smell in the neighbourhood is overwhelming,” Laurie Monk previously the Free Press.
The Garden City resident said such homes can also be prone to unkempt yards, while she fears some of the owners may also not follow all fire and safety precautions.
“I’m just concerned about the community safety,” said Monk.
Lukes said additional safety concerns may be linked to some grow operations.
She noted the federal government launched consultation this month on personal production of medical cannabis, while noting a recent increase of “law enforcement activities” at some production sites.

“There are people who require (marijuana) for medical purposes, and they should be allowed to grow it. But what’s happening is people are abusing that ability,” she said.
A city report notes the issue is complicated by the fact Health Canada issues licences for both medical and recreational cannabis production sites. For medical cannabis, that can allow pot growth to support up to four separate prescriptions at one address.
While federal laws also allow up to four plants to be grown per household for recreational use, Manitoba laws prohibit that type of growth.

UPDATE – Nov 26, 2020:
Council members unanimously supported the motion I and Councillor Eadie brought forward. Now, the Winnipeg Public Service is directed to report back to Council within 120 days with options legally available to the City to regulate or prohibit the cultivation of cannabis for any purpose, including for medical purposes, in residential neighbourhoods and/or in properties with a residential zoning designation.

UPDATE – Nov 2020:
Thank you to CBC for two excellent articles covering the issues and complexities related to licensing of medical cannabis.
Nov 17:
Winnipeg doesn’t have bylaws to ‘strongly regulate’ medical cannabis grow-ops: city planner
Nov 19:
Medical marijuana grow licences exploited by criminals to sell weed on the illegal market, police say

Oct 29, 2020:

There are residential homes being purchased throughout the City of Winnipeg solely for the purpose of growing medical cannabis.  There are known homes in the Waverley West ward and throughout the City where this activity is taking place. The cultivation of hundreds of cannabis plants within a single residential dwelling has the potential to create or contribute to negative impacts within neighbourhoods, including: odour complaints, long-term damage to buildings, and increased possibilities of criminal activity. I’ve been working with Councillor Devi Sharma, Councillor Ross Eadie and Federal colleagues trying to resolve this issue. (see article below)

Councillor Eadie and I are bringing forward a motion requesting the Public Service report back with options legally available to the City to regulate or prohibit the cultivation of cannabis for any purpose, including for medical purposes, in residential neighbourhoods and/or in properties with a residential zoning designation. We are expecting a report back in 120 days / early spring.

Thank you Winnipeg Free Press and Canstar Community News for covering this important issue.

Grow-ops threaten community well-being, residents say

By: Sydney Hildebrandt     Posted: 10/9/2020

Residents of Old Kildonan say the presence of medical cannabis grow-ops in residential areas is posing health and safety risks to homeowners and their families.

The issue has percolated for many years, though the concern has escalated since cannabis was legalized in October 2018. Residents are once again turning their heads to the problem.

“We started walking through our neighbourhoods and over the winter we noticed … the horrid smell that was coming out of these different homes,” Eddie Calisto, who has lived in Amber Trails for 29 years, said, referring to the skunky odour of cannabis.

Calisto, 61, said she believes houses in the neighbourhood are being purchased for the sole purpose of establishing large-scale grow-ops.

“Why are people buying $400,000 and $500,000 homes, spending $5,000 to $10,000 on setting up these homes for the purpose of growing for their own use? It just doesn’t add up,” she said.

This is one of the reasons why Calisto and fellow residents believe there is criminal activity linked to many of these alleged grow-ops, and as a result, have created a petition requesting the City of Winnipeg to take action.

The petition calls on the City to implement a bylaw to remove commercial-scale Health Canada-approved medical cannabis grow-ops from residential communities. The petition, containing upwards of 140 signatures, calls for grow-ops of 20 or more plants to relocate to industrial zoned areas.

The document describes various potential effects of large cannabis grow-ops in houses: mould, fire hazards, pungent odour, declining property value, and being a target of crime and/or violence.

“In many cases, these homes are vacant. The windows are often covered, air conditioning units run year-round, yards are poorly maintained, and multiple security cameras are installed. The stench that emanates from these properties is often unbearable,” the petition states, estimating that at least 30 homes in Old Kildonan have been purchased for this purpose since 2017.

Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) said she has been fielding complaints from residents and co-organized a community meeting in July to discuss their concerns.

“City council has directed our own public service to reach out directly to federal counterparts to advance this discussion. Given this activity is federally regulated, I have called upon the federal government to provide greater guidance in this area and have had collaborative discussions with MPs and MLAs serving in north Winnipeg,” she said in an email statement.

Sharma added the City is researching how other jurisdictions across Canada are handling similar issues in order to inform Winnipeg’s own decision-making.

Kevin Lamoureux, the member of Parliament representing Winnipeg North, said he rejects the idea that an individual would need more than 10 plants and ultimately believes there is a criminal element involved in this matter.

“The essence is that you have laws that allow for individuals that get prescriptions to grow medical cannabis or cannabis for medical purposes. And you have these unscrupulous characters … that, through loopholes, have found ways in which they can grow excessive amounts of cannabis, ludicrous amounts of cannabis. They are doing a huge disservice to our communities, they are causing all sorts of problems.”

Kildonan-St. Paul MP Raquel Dancho claims part of the problem is Health Canada is blocking law enforcement from accessing essential information needed to perform investigations. Dancho brought the matter to the House of Commons on Oct. 1:

“Health Canada is refusing to share critical information that law enforcement needs in order to shut down any illicit grow-ops. Medical cannabis can be grown safely, but there is a loophole that is impacting the safety and quality of life of my constituents,” she said in her reply to the Liberal’s throne speech, which took place Sept. 23.

Dancho told the Times she believes a “reasonable limit” needs to be placed on the number of plants an individual can have.

“I do feel that this is connected to criminal activity. We don’t know for sure, though — that’s being investigated. But for what we can see in other provinces that have connected it to criminal activity, I think we should be concerned.”

Dancho referred to a bust which took place in Ontario’s Niagara Region last month: provincial police seized more than 100,000 plants grown under the guise of medical use but were actually being rerouted to the illegal market.

Lamoureux and Dancho said they will continue to pursue a solution at the federal level.

To spread more awareness of the issue, Calisto said, the group of petitioners will soon launch a Facebook page and distribute flyers across the neighbourhood.

“The email list is growing by the day.”