Pubdate: Thu, 13 Aug 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

GET YOUR POT SHOP APPLICATIONS SOON

Some of you may have read my story this week about the City of 
Vancouver hosting private sessions for current and potential pot shop 
operators on how to "successfully" obtain a business licence for the 
illegal dispensaries.

I know, it seems contradictory doesn't it - a legal business licence 
for an illegal activity.

But that's for the federal government to sort out as city staff 
embarks on its bold plan to have Vancouver become the first 
municipality in Canada to regulate the growing number of marijuana 
dispensaries.

The city estimates there are about 100 pot shops in town.

I attended a portion of the first session July 30 before I was booted 
out for the question and answer period; the participants didn't 
anticipate media would be in the room when they signed up for the session.

Anyway, during my time in the room, I heard what Andreea Toma, the 
city's chief licence inspector, told the crowd. I went over my notes 
and thought I'd share an instructive quote I didn't have space for in 
my story last week. (By the way, I never thought I'd be attending a 
session at a city hall in which staff was telling people how to 
successfully get a business licence to sell pot.)

Toma: "It's important that you come to us by the 21st of August. 
Anybody that doesn't come to us by the 21st of August and continues 
to be operational, will be subject to enforcement and will have to 
close their doors. Anyone who comes to us after the 21st of August, 
will automatically be put on hold. We will not even consider the 
application until we've dealt with and completed all the applications 
that have come in on time. So I can't emphasize how important that is."

What enforcement looks like is not totally clear, although city 
lawyer Iain Dixon told council during the public hearing in June that 
"we can take enforcement action immediately, but whether we can 
guarantee that they'll stop operating immediately, we can't. It takes 
time to make someone stop operating."

Dixon said the most efficient way to shut down a business without a 
licence is to seek an injunction in court, adding that "if someone 
doesn't contest it, it's very quick. But if they do contest it, it 
can be quite long." Fines of $250 to $10,000 a day can also be imposed.

When I hear the word "enforcement," I think cops.

But as I've learned, the city's new regulations don't change how the 
cops do business. They can't shut down pot shops, board up a building 
or turn off someone's electricity. They can get a warrant, execute 
it, make arrests and seize evidence. But, as some of the research I 
did recently on police investigations of pot shops indicated, 
dispensary operators usually open their doors again soon after a raid.

"It would be up to the city, which can regulate land use and enforce 
city bylaws, to actually shut the business down," said Const. Brian 
Montague, a VPD media relations officer. "The only way things would 
change for us [under the new regulations] is if the city asked us for 
assistance to either keep the peace while they dealt with a business 
that they were having issues with."

All very interesting as the federal election campaign gets rolling 
and the Conservatives, who have been very vocal about their disgust 
at Vancouver's move to regulate pot shops, look to get another term in office.

Note: I'm taking some time off and will be back on the beat Aug. 31. 
We'll see you then.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom