Pubdate: Wed, 28 Oct 2015
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Times Colonist
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html
Website: http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Authors: Bethany Lindsay and Kelly Sinoski
Page: A4

B.C. CITIES PUSH AHEAD WITH POT-SHOP RULES

Federal Promises Seen As Positive, but Future of Dispensaries Uncertain

VANCOUVER - The election of Justin Trudeau's Liberals was a cause for 
jubilation at Eden Medicinal Society's five marijuana dispensaries 
across Vancouver.

"We went into the election hoping that people would be able to see 
through the anti-pot ideology, see the evidence that has mounted, and 
it appears that they did," said Eden spokesman Danny Kresnyak. "Our 
reaction is obviously very positive."

He hopes Trudeau will move quickly on his promise to legalize 
recreational pot, and that at least some of the approximately 120 
illegal dispensaries now operating in Vancouver will be a part of that.

"We're pushing forward best practices, and we would like to invite 
Mr. Trudeau to our locations to show him how the dispensary model can 
work," Kresnyak said.

But while the country waits to see when and how the new government 
will bring in legalization, shops like Eden face an uncertain future 
as B.C. municipalities forge their own paths for dealing with the 
blossoming industry.

In Vancouver, Mayor Gregor Robertson has pledged that the Liberal 
victory would not affect the city's dispensary regulation scheme, a 
two-tiered licensing system aimed at weeding out for-profit 
dispensaries in favour of non-profit compassion clubs.

And the mayor made good on that promise this week, when the city gave 
the green light to just 11 of 176 dispensaries that have applied for 
licences, allowing them to continue with the application process. The 
remaining 165 shops did not meet the requirements for minimum 
distances from schools, recreation centres and other dispensaries.

Kresnyak refused to comment on the status of Eden's applications with 
the city, but at least one other dispensary owner is considering 
suing over the process.

A few other cities across B.C. are throwing their might behind 
Vancouver, with some, like Kimberley, starting to allow compassion 
clubs, which provide medical marijuana to patients. Victoria and 
Burnaby are studying Vancouver's regulations.

Victoria council will consider a proposal for some form of regulation 
of its dispensaries next month, Mayor Lisa Helps said. Maple Ridge 
has had a huge jump in dispensaries and treats them as illegal, but 
Mayor Nicole Read said all that could change if the Liberals make pot legal.

Vancouver's approach to dealing with dispensaries matches that of 
Seattle, which also licensed illegal pot shops before Washington 
state residents voted to legalize marijuana in 2012.

Still, the Seattle example doesn't necessarily bode well for weed 
retailers, according to Tonia Winchester, a Washington state lawyer 
who worked on the citizens' coalition to legalize the drug.

"Dispensaries are no longer legal [in Seattle] and they actually 
never were legal. So, dispensaries have been given notice that they 
need to shut down," Winchester said.

Some of those shops may be allowed to reopen, but first they'll have 
to apply to the state's liquor and cannabis board for a medical 
endorsement, which would allow them to sell to medical marijuana 
customers only. Recreational marijuana can only be purchased legally 
at licensed retail stores that started opening in 2014.

But Miles Light, co-founder of the Marijuana Policy Group in Denver, 
believes Vancouver doesn't necessarily need to follow Seattle's path. 
He thinks the city is well positioned to get a head start on legal 
pot sales if the existing dispensaries are allowed to become legitimate.

"You don't want to reward illegal activity, but you have to be pragmatic."

Many B.C. cities, such as Abbotsford and Surrey, say they have no 
plans to change their restrictive bylaws on medical marijuana 
outlets. Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore said the city does not have 
the legal authority to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries and 
the RCMP will shut down those operating illegally.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom