Pubdate: Thu, 11 Jun 2015 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Matthew Robinson Page: A7 PASSIONATE DEBATE OVER CITY'S PLAN TO REGULATE POT SHOPS City Council Has Just Started Hearing From Over 160 People WHO Have Signed Up to Offer Input on the Controversial Strategy A city plan to regulate Vancouver's budding crop of illegal marijuana shops sparked impassioned debate at a tightly packed city hall hearing late Wednesday. By the time the hearing began, more than 160 people had signed up to tell Mayor Gregor Robertson and city councillors what they thought of the plan. "These hearings should not be taking place," said Connor Fesenmaier, a member of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada, and one of the first to take the microphone. "The federal government has made it abundantly clear these dispensaries are illegal operations and it remains an open question as to whether or not city servants or employees can be charged for conspiring to violate federal laws," Fesenmaier warned. The city's move to regulate the industry comes as the count of pot shops in the city nears 100. All 98 of them are illegal because federal law permits the sale of medical marijuana but only by mail, through licensed, registered producers. The city's proposed regulations ignore the question of legalizing pot, and instead look to control the way and speed that the illegal industry is growing. Oana Nicoara, the general manager of EGGS CANNA, which runs a pair of compassion clubs in Vancouver, applauded the city's move to get involved. "I think it's great that you are not buying into the federal (position) and the demonizing of medical marijuana," Nicoara said. "Canada as a nation is looking at us and I really think we have the platform to do something great." Under the plan, the city would levy a hefty $30,000 annual administration fee on each pot shop and require them to pay for business licences. Shop owners would have to reapply annually and they and their employees would be subject to annual criminal record checks. The city would not allow dispensaries within 300 metres of schools, community centres or each other. They'd also be banned from side streets, the Granville entertainment district and in the Downtown Eastside, other than along Main and Hastings streets. Marijuana infused edibles would not be allowed in any shops, and existing outlets would not be grandfathered past the new regulations. Maryann Abbs, a clinical herbalist at the B.C. Compassion Club Wellness Centre, urged the city to waive the $30,000 administration fee and grandfather in any non-profit shops like hers. Kirk Tousaw, a lawyer who recently took marijuana users' fight to continue growing their own plants to Federal Court, commended the city for its leadership role but took issue with some parts of the city's plan. "It's particularly in relation to edibles that I think this bylaw falls a bit short. ... If you're dealing with chronic pain, (they) are the preferred method," he said, adding that if edibles are banned, people will simply be left to make their own and struggle to figure out appropriate doses. Before speakers were offered the microphone, Patricia Daly, the chief medical health officer and a vice-president at Vancouver Coastal Health, presented statistics and recommendations on minimizing negative health consequences of the industry. She released figures that showed St. Paul's Hospital saw 63 patients for marijuana intoxication after the 4/20 protest. Of those who disclosed what they had taken, 36 took edibles, 13 smoked pot and five did both. She added that VCH would like to see marijuana packaging disclose the potency of each product, but that is not something the city or region could regulate. Rona Ambrose, the federal health minister, restated her objections to the city's plan in a news release Wednesday. "Storefronts selling marijuana are illegal and under this Conservative Government will remain illegal. We expect the police to enforce the law," she said. Fewer than a dozen speakers had a chance to speak in the first three hours of the public hearing. With scores more waiting to speak, it could be days before the mayor and city councillors will be able to vote on the issue. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom