Legal marijuana growers under fire
Fearing abuse of system, new federal rules will reduce number of licences, permitted locations
Doug Hewer tends to his garden with the loving care of a dedicated horticulturalist.
That’s because the 61- year- old’s plants are his medicine and after decades of being criminalized for using marijuana, then a few years of it being legal, he can’t believe the federal government plans to end his legal ability to grow in his home.
“The fact that they can’t kick my door down, rob me of everything, make me spend all my extra money on a lawyer, it’s been a bonus and to take it away now is ripping the rug out from under me,” Hewer said in an interview.
“I’ve been thrown in jail all over the world. I’m so sick of this.”
Hewer is one of the more than 500 individuals in Chilliwack who are legally licensed to grow marijuana for personal medical use.
According to figures obtained through an Access to Information request early last year, there were 238 Chilliwack residents licensed to possess marijuana for medical reasons and 193 licensed to produce marijuana for medical purposes.
By last month, there were 666 people with possession licences, 513 with personaluse production licences ( PUPL) and 77 with designated person production licences ( DPPL).
For critics such as Mayor Sharon Gaetz, the near tripling of legal growers in Chilliwack in one year points to the problem of illegal pot farms using Health Canada medical marijuana access regulations ( MMAR) as a front.
Federal Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq is among the critics of the MMAR program, saying in December the current MMAR system is open to abuse. Changes are coming April 1, 2014, that will see, among other things, marijuana growing taken out of residential areas.
The total number of medical
This is one of the biggest cash crops in this province. The only dangers are if you get busted.
DOUG HEWER
LICENSED MARIJUANA GROWER
marijuana possession and production licences in B. C. almost tripled in 2012, to 24,963 from 9,097, Health Canada statistics show.
B. C. now has more licensed medicalmarijuana users and growers than any other Canadian province, with B. C. residents holding more than half of Canadian licences.
By Dec. 31, there were 13,362 licences to possess medical pot issued to B. C. residents, up from just 4,928 on Jan. 31, 2012.
Health Canada more than tripled the number of licences provided to B. C. residents to grow their own medical marijuana to a total of 9,369 at the end of the year, from 2,987 just 11 months earlier.
The number of licences handed to people designated to grow medical marijuana for others almost doubled.
Under the proposed changes, licensed producers will be required to notify local governments, local police forces and fire officials of their intention to apply to Health Canada so that local authorities will be aware of the location of the growing operations.
It’s all too much for Hewer, who insists marijuana is not only harmless but is a blessing.
Hewer has a “garden” of 200 plants in his house, which includes his licence for 73 plants and the two licences for his roommate and his exwife. He said he spent a lot of money to “do it right.”
His electrical system is up to code, he uses charcoal filters that help with odours, he has an alarm system set up and, for the most part, is following the law.
“I’m sort of legal,” Hewer conceded, adding that “the excess” goes to pay for the expensive electricity bills.
“Who else is going to pay for the $ 2,800 hydro?”
Hewer said he used to be an “outlaw” and has been spent time in jail for possession of his high- quality “honey” oil in India, Germany and Holland.
He claims he even spent 10 years in the Himalayas running from German authorities.
But it was in jail in Holland that he says a dirty needle was used on him against his will and he contracted hepatitis C.
“I lost a lot of hair and my skin was falling out but I survived it and without cannabis I don’t know if I could have,” he said.
Hewer is aware of the irony in the fact that he uses cannabis to treat an illness he says he contracted while in prison for possession of cannabis.
“All due to this stupid law,” he said. “This is one of the biggest cash crops in this province. The only dangers of marijuana are if you get busted.”
Hewer says the media makes sweeping judgments about all growers when doing stories about the few who break the rules or are unsafe.
“Most of us are doing it right,” he said, adding that the best growers are in a catch- 22 when it comes to becoming a potential large- scale grower for Health Canada.
“I’d like to grow for others. They won’t let me because I have a criminal record for marijuana. I’m an expert and they don’t want an expert.”
After a near lifetime of marijuana growing, and use, and fighting prohibition laws all over the world, Hewer finally thought he could relax, grow his cannabis in his home and enjoy hobbies, such as playing music, in peace.
But a year from now his growing licence will be taken away.
“I’m ashamed our government is pulling the rug out from under us.”