Pubdate: Fri, 10 Feb 2012
Source: Burnaby Now, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.burnabynow.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1592
Author: Janaya Fuller-Evans

NIPPED IN THE BUD

Marijuana Dispensary Closes, Hemp Shop Takes Its Place

Burnaby's first hemp shop has risen from the ashes of the medical 
marijuana dispensary in Metrotown, which closed following an RCMP 
raid last summer.

Britney Anne, former director of the Metrotown Medicinal Society, has 
done everything possible to reopen as a completely legal business, 
she said in an interview in the new shop last week.

The Burnaby dispensary is no more. Britney Anne and shop staff kept 
the doors open following the raid on July 28, to let patients know 
they would have to go elsewhere for medical marijuana, finally 
closing on Aug. 31.

Jordan Kuyvenhoven, who was working in the shop on the day of the 
raid, said it was done respectfully.

"They parked a van out front," she said. "It was quiet when it happened."

Britney Anne, Kuyvenhoven and Ryan Steplock have a total of 10 
charges against the three of them, with the case going to court in 
May 2013, Britney Anne said. It's a risk that people in the 
dispensary business face, she added.

Britney Anne eventually changed her cellphone number, as people 
continued to call for months regarding the dispensary, she said.

"We're trying to run a legal business," she said of the new shop.

Everything required for operating the dispensary - from about $2,000 
worth of marijuana to the computer system - was confiscated during 
the raid, according to Britney Anne.

"They took everything we had in here," she said. "We had a lot of 
debts to pay off."

But on Jan. 16, the shop reopened as the Metrotown Hemp Shop - a 
first, she said, for Burnaby, as most hemp or "head" shops are over 
the border in Vancouver. The shop sells hemp clothing, pipes and 
other hemp-related products - all legal with a tobacco retail 
authorization certificate, she said.

Dana Larsen, former B.C. NDP leadership candidate and marijuana 
legalization advocate, was at the shop to show his support, he said.

Larsen was on the board of the Metrotown Medicinal Society but does 
not own a share in the new business, he said.

He was disappointed that the dispensary was raided in Burnaby, when 
there are 12 dispensaries in Vancouver and one in Maple Ridge that 
have been left alone, he said.

"It's hurting a lot of patients in this city," he said.

Businesses in the area were supportive of the dispensary, he and 
Britney Anne said.

"The only ones not happy were the RCMP," Larsen added

The day after the raid, Cpl. Rick Skolrood of the Burnaby RCMP told 
the NOW that the society also had a business licence violation but 
said that was under the jurisdiction of the city, not the police.

The City of Burnaby's business licence office did not respond to 
requests from the NOW regarding the hemp shop's current application.

The hemp shop is operating under a temporary business permit while 
awaiting approval for a permanent licence.

The society invited the Burnaby RCMP to the dispensary when it first 
opened, but the police did not respond.

At the time, Burnaby RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Brenda Gresiuk said that 
compassion clubs and dispensaries aren't legally entitled to sell 
marijuana under Canadian law.

"To date, there's no legal mechanism for that," she said.

She refused to comment in April on whether or not action would be 
taken by the RCMP against the dispensary.

Health Canada does not license such organizations to possess, produce 
or distribute marijuana for medical purposes, according to a June 
2010 press release, sent by media relations officer Olivia Caron last year.

The Metrotown Hemp Shop is located at 4927 Kingsway and is open 
Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturdays from 11 
a.m. to 5 p.m.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom