Pubdate: Fri, 22 Apr 2016
Source: Kelowna Capital News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016, West Partners Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.kelownacapnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1294
Author: Kevin Parnell

WEST KELOWNA BUSINESSMAN EMBRACING MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

West Kelowna resident Neil Young loves to be immersed in the community
and to help people.

A former hotel industry worker, Young, 29, has taken that love of
people to a new initiative that is aimed at helping people who are
facing a variety of health concerns.

However his new business is not your normal operation: Young is the
co-owner of Starbuds Cannabis, a patient access centre-more commonly
called a compassion club-where people can access medicinal marijuana
out of a store-front on Main street in West Kelowna.

"We are a patient access centre and we help people get access to
medical cannabis," said Young as he sat down with the Capital News
this week. "That is what we do. Patients that are legally allowed to
have it are coming in with the proper forms to access medical
cannabis. We can also set up an appointment with one of our medical
consultants."

Starbuds-officially operating as a society-opened for business six
months ago and in that time has had a steady stream of people through
its doors. People sign up as members and have to present the proper
paperwork from Health Canada and receive membership before entering a
closed-door area and accessing medicinal marijuana.

There are many different forms of cannabis available, from flower or
dried cannabis to cannabis oil, lotions and even bath fizz. And Young
says the stories he hears back from the members are incredible.

"We had a guy come in and helped him get off opiates he had been
taking for the past 10 years," said Young. "We have people coming in
with MS that try the bath fizz and say that's the only thing that
helps. We have a lot of people coming in with cancer, fybromyalgia and
osteoarthritis. Those are the top three. More common is back pain,
neck pain, insomnia, anxiety. The medicinal properties of the
cannabinoids are incredible. It's been really positive for us because
the word is starting to get out that cannabis is helping people."

Young admits his club operates in a grey area due to the nature of the
medicine they are supplying people. While the federal Liberals
announced this week their plans to legalize marijuana, the plant is
still a controlled substance regulated under the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act (CDSA). When contacted Kelowna RCMP said "There are no
legal mechanisms available which allow for self described medical
marijuana dispensary or compassion club to function."

Still there are at least four marijuana dispensaries operating in
Kelowna and more compassion clubs that will likely open soon. RCMP
head office in Vancouver said detachments set priorities in
consultation with local governments and citizens of the community.

At Starbuds, Young says they have nothing to hide. He said the
District of West Kelowna knows they are there operating and the only
time RCMP responded to the operation was in response to an emergency
button that was accidentally pushed at Starbuds.

"We're not dealing marijuana," said Young. "We are helping people get
access to medical marijuana. You need a membership to get in. It's a
privilege, not a right to be here."

While some compassion clubs operating in B.C. allow its members to
smoke pot in the building, Young says they do not and are operating
above board, acquiring medicinal marijuana through a Health Canada
licensed grower. They work with a separate facility that makes edible
marijuana out of an operation in Kelowna.

"It's all government-regulated," said Young, who added his company is
franchising out its operation and is expected to open similar
store-fronts around the Okanagan with plans in Osoyoos, Vernon, Salmon
Arm, Kamloops and Kelowna. "We wouldn't be doing what we are doing
right now unless we were confident we were doing it right. There is no
legislation right now saying what is right or wrong. We're trying to
set the standard. We want to share what we are doing with everyone
else in the country. Our goal is to have Starbuds in every province
across Canada."

For more: starbudscannabis.ca  
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D