Pubdate: Thu, 21 Apr 2016
Source: Chilliwack Times (CN BC)
Page: A3
Copyright: 2016 Chilliwack Times
Contact:  http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1357
Author: Paul J. Henderson

WEEMEDICAL TAKES ANOTHER HIT

Selling dried marijuana and other cannabis products for medical
purposes at a storefront dispensary is, according to the letter of the
law, illegal.

On the other hand, says a local and nationally known legal expert on
the subject, not providing "reasonable access" to medical marijuana
for patients violates Charter rights.

In the wake of the second crackdown on Chilliwack's only medical
marijuana dispensary just three days after reopening, (10 days after
the first crackdown), which itself was 18 days into operation, these
are some of the questions being addressed.

Abbotsford lawyer John Conroy says Crown, via the government, is
"dragging its feet" when it comes to approving charges in the few
instances when dispensaries have actually been raided.

There are well over 100 dispensaries across B.C., but very few have
garnered police attention or the aggressive bylaw enforcement that
came from the City of Chilliwack. Fines of $1,000 a day were levied to
the society behind the dispensary since it first opened on March 19,
and $500 a day each to the building's two owners.

There has been some recent attention from RCMP detachments on
marijuana dispensaries, which are illegal in Canada. In December,
Mission RCMP raided a small rural dispensary in Deroche, and in other
communities such as Nanaimo and Vernon some have been raided but most
seem to have reopened. In Vernon, population 40,000, there are
currently six dispensaries in operation, according to the website Leafly.com.

In Chilliwack, on April 5, just 18 days after opening, as many as 10
RCMP officers with body armour raided WeeMedical Dispensary on Fifth
Avenue, bringing the one employee, store manager Shayli Vere to cells
at the detachment before releasing her without charges.

Vere then had a rift with the society behind WeeMedical, but the
owners vowed to open again and, on April 15, they did indeed open
their doors, with three younger employees manning the counter.

Three days after that, on Monday afternoon, police raided again and
confiscated product. A number of patients also say they were stopped
by police and threatened with charges.

"They waited for us to leave then two cops cornered us and stopped
us," said one customer who asked not to be named. "[Police] said their
(WeeMedical) card was useless that I needed a government card and
without that card it was illegal what I was doing."

When asked in March whether there would be a crackdown, RCMP
spokesperson Cpl. Mike Rail said: "Businesses and/or individuals
operating in contravention of the Controlled Drug and Substance Act
(CDSA) and Health Canada Regulations may be subject to investigation
and criminal charges in accordance to Canadian laws."

For Conroy, though, dispensaries are the inevitable outgrowth of a
failed federal medical marijuana program. Conroy is the successful
lawyer behind the Allard decision brought down by Federal Court Judge
Michael Phelan in March that upheld patients' right to grow their own
medical marijuana. It gave the federal government until Aug. 24 to
rewrite the laws.

That right was taken away thanks to 2013 legislation under the former
Conservative government. Conroy, on behalf of Neil Allard and three
others, argued that legislation blocked access to affordable medicine,
and the court agreed.

And while the right to grow pot may seem to have little if anything to
do with illegal dispensaries, Conroy sees a connection.

His position is that since the federal government's licensed producer
system of distributing marijuana to patients has been such an abysmal
failure, and since the courts have mandated "reasonable access" is
required, dispensaries are the natural next step.

"It will be interesting to see what the government is going to do
about this dispensary issue, and if they proceed with charges," Conroy
told the Times Monday. "[It appears] patients voted with their feet
being dissatisfied with the [licensed producer] system and not being
able to grow, or not wanting to grow, for themselves."

Municipal police forces in places such as Vancouver and Victoria have
not cracked down on dispensaries, but some RCMP detachments have. The
RCMP is still of the view, Conroy said, that these are illegal
operations and they rely on the fact that there is nothing in the CDSA
that expressly authorizes them. So, Conroy concedes, "according to
black letter law," the dispensaries are not lawful. Still, the
government's obligation to provide reasonable access remains
unfulfilled.

"Arguably they are trying to fill that void," he said of dispensaries
such as WeeMedical.

And while Mayor Sharon Gaetz is unapologetic about the RCMP crackdown
or the issuance of fines because of bylaw violations, other
municipalities have taken a different approach.

When WeeMedical showed up in Port Alberni, there was some gnashing of
teeth at city hall, but eventually the town council voted to regulate
in a way similar to Vancouver.

They also issued a business licence and added stipulations in the
zoning to forbid dispensaries within 300 metres of schools nor within
1,000 metres of one another.

As for legalization, Conroy is hopeful but he worries about certain
moves made by the Justin Trudeau government recently.

"I think that Allard made them think they can move a little quicker,
but . . . I'm worrying they are going to delay things," he said. "They
haven't appointed the task force, and [Liberal MP and former Toronto
police] Chief Bill Blair is the point man. When you are legalizing you
are taking the police out of the equation. It's a bit odd to have a
policeman as the guy in charge."  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D