Pubdate: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 Source: Langley Advance (CN BC) Copyright: 2011 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc. Contact: http://www.langleyadvance.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1248 Author: Heather Colpitts POT DISPENSARY OWNER WANTS TO TALK The owner of the Langley Medical Marijuana Dispensary which was raided by the RCMP July 19 wants to meet with the community. Randy Caine has organized a townhall meeting for 7 p.m. on Aug. 2 at the Douglas Recreation Centre to hear from residents about their views on having a medical pot dispensary in their community. "This has always been community driven," he said. His downtown Langley dispensary on Fraser Highway, which has been open about 11 months, was the subject of an RCMP raid. Caine estimated they seized about $15,000 in pot and some baked goods with pot as well as some cash. "The dispensary is located in a mixed residential and commercial building," said RCMP Const. Jillian Roberts. "As a result of receiving numerous ongoing complaints from the community and area residents, police began an investigation into these complaints." These dispensaries are not legal and are not legally authorized by any authority or legislation in Canada, to distribute marihuana, Roberts explained. Caine said the police wanted to take the membership lists but he fought that and the lists were not seized. Caine is licensed by Health Canada to provide for three clients but he admits to having about 150 active clients who have medical documentation. "Do we abandon these people?" he asked during an interview with the Langley Advance. (The dispensary has about 270 clients in total but some have had their memberships rejected due to inappropriate conduct and others no longer need medicinal pot.) He said the society and government have to realize that marijuana is a medicine for many people. He points to a recent client who passed away at 72. The anti-rejection drugs from this heart transplant patient made him nauseated and pot allowed him to be able to keep food down. He said the dispensary didn't advertise. "We began to have physicians recommending that they [patients] come to us," he said. Caine said he was always open about the dispensary, with governments and the police. He's spoken to Supt. Derek Cooke about the dispensary and when it was broken into about six days after the storefront dispensary opened, the RCMP was on scene investigating. Caine noted he wasn't raided nor shut down then. The dispensary has an HST number, is subject to WorkSafe rules, and pays into government benefits for staff, he said. The police warrant said he was trafficking in a controlled substance but Caine said he has Health Canada licensing and follows the intent of court decisions which have said pot is a legitimate treatment for many illnesses. Health Canada's medical marijuana regulations have been found unconstitutional in court several times and that forces medical suppliers to operate in a grey area, he said. "There is some degree of culpability in this," he said of government and authorities. Until the issues around the raid are resolved, people will only find informa-tion and advocacy at the Langley Medical Marijuana Dispensary. Health Canada and Crown counsel have not been in contact with him since the raid. No charges have been laid. Caine said he has tried to increase the number of people on his licence and clients have written to Health Canada asking for the dispensary to be their supplier. "It's not that there hasn't been that attempt," he said. Caine said communities have real concerns about pot in their communities, but medical marijuana is here and that's why he's tried to operate a community-based business. Caine contracts with suppliers he said are not part of the criminal trade. He said he sells for below black-market prices because people who are ill often can't work and have difficulty affording medication. He said he follows Health Canada's set market value, charging about $6 per ounce. The dispensary only recently started to break even, covering rent and wages. Caine owns two Hempyz gift and novelty shops and has worked for years in film and TV, providing the capital for the dispensary. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.