Pubdate: Tue, 09 Jun 2015 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc. Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.theprovince.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Nick Eagland Page: 10-11 HASHING OUT NEW REGULATIONS FOR POT Council's Public Hearing Will Get Wide Spectrum of Opinion on Marijuana Dispensaries The fate of Vancouver's 90-plus pot dispensaries will be the subject of a contentious debate Wednesday as city hall hosts a public hearing on their potential regulation.. So far, 87 speakers have signed up for a marathon hearing that will pit those in favour of implementing rules, business licences and zoning requirements for "marijuana-related businesses" against those who want them left alone, on one hand, or shuttered entirely, on the other. But one group against regulating dispensaries will boycott the hearing altogether. Pamela McColl, a director with Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada (SAMC), said she is concerned her group will be a target for criticism at the meeting for speaking out against pot. "I was told by a private investigator that I should be extremely careful, that I should maybe not speak at city hall," McColl said. McColl also accused Mayor Gregor Robertson and city council of "aiding and abetting" the sale of an illegal drug. "We have laws in this country and this civic government needs to recognize that this issue is a Canadian issue," she said. "This is not a City of Vancouver issue, and we expect to be safe and protected by our police force. If they can't do their job, then the RCMP's going to have to step in." The proposed regulations include an annual $30,000 licensing fee, a requirement for employees to undergo criminal record checks and the closure of shops close to each other, schools and community centres. But McColl said the regulations fail to consider their proximity to day cares. She's concerned they won't limit the number of dispensaries and will enable them to sell what she called "dirty drugs." A spokesman from Robertson's office said legalities around the public hearing process prevent the mayor and council from commenting on the issue before hearing from the public. However, the mayor has spoken about regulation in the past. "The proliferation exists because of the federal landscape," Robertson said in April. "As a city we can't continue allowing these shops to be all over town. They're allowed to exist, but we can't let them operate in a vacuum. We want to be sure there are good, solid guidelines here." Many dispensary advocates said they will speak in support of regulation, albeit with amendments to what the city currently proposes, which could shut down as many as two-thirds of them. "I think most of them welcome regulation," said Jamie Shaw, a board member of the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries (CAMCD) and spokeswoman for Vancouver's oldest dispensary, the B.C. Compassion Club Society (BCCCS), which opened in 1997. "Even with this new boom in dispensaries, most of them are still doing it for the right reasons. Most of them are doing it to help sick people access cannabis and so they're willing to break the law to do that." At the hearing, Shaw will represent BCCCS, which she said may have to close its shop on Commercial Drive and relocate if the regulations aren't amended, because of its proximity to a private school. Because BCCCS is a non-profit, she believes a $30,000 fee would force it to scale back low-cost health services, such as massage and acupuncture, that it provides to more than 3,000 clients. CAMCD and Sensible B.C., a group advocating the decriminalization of cannabis, have helped some 100 people prepare "from the heart" speeches for the hearing, Shaw said. She said they hope the mayor and council will be moved by personal stories about the positive impact cannabis has had on patients' lives. Karli Thiessen, a board member of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club dispensary who uses medicinal cannabis to treat her cancer, has also signed up to speak. "The biggest concern is that we all want this to be regulated," Thiessen said. "We don't want there to be just a free-for-all, that's not what we want. It has to be some sort of regulation." But with the proposed regulations, she fears patients with mobility issues will lose access to their local dispensaries and to edibles. She laments a regulation that would prevent access to patients younger than 25. "I need to believe (the city will) do the right thing," she said. "And the right thing is to let cannabis be people's medicine." Neil Magnuson of the United Cannabis Activists Network said he'll speak about six "deal-breakers" within the regulations: zoning requirements around proximity to other dispensaries and to schools; employee criminal record checks; the $30,000 licensing fee; the ban on edibles; and discussions around the sourcing of cannabis. "(Dispensaries) welcome the idea of reasonable regulations that bring them into the mainstream and give them official status," Magnuson said. "What we don't want are unreasonable regulations that continue to discriminate against our community, that stigmatize and continue the stigmatization that's been happening because of 'Reefer Madness' over those years - and we don't want anybody harmed," including dispensary owners who may lose their businesses. Magnuson said he hopes those who oppose regulation consider the impacts of industries such as alcohol and tobacco, which he feels pose a greater threat to society. Mark Haden, adjunct professor for UBC's School of Population and Public Health, won't speak at the hearing but submitted a paper he co-authored exploring regulation of the marijuana industry based on lessons learned from the alcohol and tobacco industries. Haden said the public health approach to the regulation and control of cannabis is to make the drug "boring." "It needs to be available to adults, but they don't need that many (dispensaries)," he said. "I think that a lot of people are getting into the business now because they see that regulations are coming in and they want to be grandfathered in, so I understand that from a business model, but I don't think business should be driving this. I think that public health should be driving this." To make cannabis "boring," Haden proposes making limited quantities of the drug available for adults over the age of 19, in a range of products in varying concentrations and strains. Dispensaries wouldn't be visible from the street under such a model, he said, and they wouldn't advertise and be "waving the flag about how important" cannabis is. A Vancouver Coastal Health spokeswoman said the health authority hasn't taken an official position on the city's proposed regulations, but Dr. Patricia Daly, chief medical health officer, has said legalization and strict regulation are the "best way" to reduce associated harm. "I think the federal government needs to acknowledge their mishandling of the medical marijuana issue has led to the growth in outlets," she said in April. "Taking a regulatory approach is actually the best way to reduce the harm associated with marijuana use. We know that trying to shut these places down will just drive distribution of marijuana back into the illegal market and organized crime." Const. Brian Montague of the Vancouver Police Department said that regardless of the city's decision, the VPD's stance, policies and procedures will not change. "We will continue to go into these illegal stores if they become a public safety issue," Montague said. "They remain illegal regardless of whether or not they're licensed." Asked if there are any investigations into affiliations with organized crime or gangs, Montague said: "I won't specifically say that, but we follow up on any information we receive. If we receive information that there's links to organized crime, it would be investigated." Montague said nine dispensaries have been the subject of enforcement since 2013 by way of an investigation and search warrant, and charges were recommended in all of those cases. The public hearing starts at 6 p.m. on June 10 at Vancouver city hall at 453 West 12th Ave. Those who wish to speak can sign up by or by calling 604-829-4238. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom