Pubdate: Wed, 08 Jul 2015
Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Vancouver Courier
Contact:  http://www.vancourier.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474
Author: Mike Howell

POLICE'S VIEW ON POT SHOPS IS OLD NEWS

So someone is officially complaining about the Vancouver Police 
Department's alleged lack of enforcement on the city's illegal 
marijuana dispensaries.

That someone is Pamela McColl of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada.

She received some media attention about her complaint, which was 
filed with the Vancouver Police Board and, by extension, the Office 
of the Police Complaint Commissioner.

I left a message with McColl on her cell last week but I hadn't heard 
back at the time of writing this.

As readers will know who have read the comment section at the bottom 
of many of my online stories pertaining to the pot shops, McColl 
certainly has her opinions. Essentially, she can't believe the cops 
are not raiding the illegal dispensaries and shutting down all 90-plus of them.

So her complaint wasn't a surprise.

What was a surprise is nobody - McColl and media included - seemed to 
know the police board already answered the allegation by way of 
another complainant. I don't know who that person is - the board 
won't tell me because of privacy reasons - but I do know a complaint 
was lodged two years ago.

The board dismissed that complaint at a public meeting in October 2013.

It did so after reviewing a report by Sgt. Jim Prasobsin, whose 
conclusions about the VPD's approach to dealing with the pot shops 
have been paraphrased repeatedly by Jim Chu when he was chief, by new 
chief Adam Palmer, by Supt. Mike Porteous of the major crime section 
and by the VPD's media liaison officers.

Their message: Pot shops are not a priority because the focus of the 
department is to go after the scumbags selling heroin, cocaine and harder drugs

So, for the record, the VPD's position hasn't changed since Prasobsin 
wrote his report.

What has changed are two things: Pot shops grew from 29 when the 
board dismissed that complaint in October 2013 to almost 100 today; 
and city council recently passed a business licence scheme to get 
some form of control on the dispensaries.

The board will obviously take those factors in mind when it decides 
in the fall what to do with McColl's complaint. But my prediction is 
the board will simply refer to Prasobsin's report and note city staff 
consulted with the VPD in drafting the new regulations for pot shops.

And then they'll dismiss McColl's complaint.

If the board doesn't, I'd sure like to hear its members' rationale 
for going against the views of the police department and city hall. 
You should know the cops executed nine search warrants over an 
18-month period and, so far, only three people have been charged and 
the shops remain open.

So that everybody is absolutely clear on the VPD's policy related to 
pot shops, I'll leave you with two quotes from Prasobsin's report. 
Here's the first one:

"VPD drug investigative priorities target persons or groups that prey 
upon the vulnerable and use violence in the commission of offences. 
Marijuana dispensaries have not been a high priority because other 
drug offences that pose a greater risk to public safety have been 
targeted with the VPD's limited drug enforcement resources."

Here's the second:

"It is the view of the VPD that police enforcement against marijuana 
dispensaries in the first instance would generally be a 
disproportionate use of police resources and the criminal law. The 
issue requires a balanced enforcement strategy that considers a 
continuum of responses from education to warnings, to bylaw 
enforcement, to enforcement of the criminal law, when warranted."

Are we clear, people?

Note: I checked with the City of Vancouver Monday to get a tally on 
how many people applied to get a business licence for a pot shop. 
Apparently, a communications staffer tells me "some gaps exist in the 
applications we have received to date" and it would be "premature to 
provide an accurate number at this time." The deadline for applicants 
is Aug. 24.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom