Pubdate: Thu, 09 Mar 2017
Source: Parksville Qualicum Beach News (CN BC)
Webpages: http://www.pqbnews.com/news/415725304.html
Copyright: 2017 Black Press
Contact:  http://www.pqbnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1361
Author: J. R. Rardon

POT SHOP SPROUTS UP IN PARKSVILLE

Council votes to request closure of 'illegal operation' in city

A new medical marijuana dispensary has opened its doors in downtown
Parksville, and Mayor Marc Lefebvre wasted no time beating around the
weeds in sharing his opinion on the development.

"When I was elected mayor I was elected to uphold the law, and I swore
that I would uphold the law,"Lefebvre told councillors during Monday's
regular meeting in council chambers. "The law in Canada still states
that this kind of operation is illegal and I'm not interested in
having an illegal operation in my city.

"I would like to see this place closed down."

The mayor's remarks came as city staff submitted a report noting the
presence of the unlicenced shop, WeeMedical, on Hirst Avenue. That
report offered council several options to respond to the dispensary,
while also addressing the likelihood of the federal government
legalizing the direct sale of medical marijuana in the future.

"We know the direction (the federal government) is going in; it's
coming," Coun. Mary Beil said of marijuana legalization. "We're going
to be caught with this; at some point it's going to be approved and
when it is, it's going to be the wild, wild west out there. We'll have
nothing in place."

Parksville currently has a bylaw allowing licenced, medical marijuana
production in either the industrial area south of the city, or in its
outer agricultural zones. The sale of any marijuana is not allowed
anywhere, and no medical pot operations of any kind have been approved
for the downtown core.

"We do have (enforcement) steps, and we have taken them already," said
Keeva Kehler, director of administrative services. "A bylaw officer
was sent to the site, we have issued a written warning telling them
they're in contravention of our regulations; they don't have a sign
permit; and the building inspector is not 100 per cent sure they're in
compliance with zoning."

WeeMedical has two locations in Nanaimo and one in Port Alberni. The
Port Alberni location has been licensed by that city, though current
medical marijuana laws are a patchwork from one municipality to another.

Council approved a pair of motions related to the issue. One requests
the RCMP close down the exisiting shop. The other directed city staff
to begin developing a regulatory regime anticipating the eventual
legalization of marijuana.

"The federal government has left us in limbo, and unfortunately
because of that we've had to deal with these illegal pot shops,"
councillor Sue Powell said. "We need to get ahead of this; a knee-jerk
shutdown is not going to work."

Parksville has been down this road before. Two years ago, Phoenix Pain
Management Society opened a medical pot dispensary in downtown
Parksville. It was shut down after being raided byRCMP in April of
2015.

Council approved unanimously a motion directing staff "go beyond
business licence enforcement to close this operation, and further
request RCMP enforce the law prohibiting the sale of marijuana in this
location."

Council then voted to direct staff to craft a report and present to
council options for a regulatory regime for for both medical and
recreational marijuana.

Prior to that vote, councillors Kirk Oates and Kim Burden introduced
an amendment removing recreational marijuana from that framework.

"It gives the illusion that the people of Parksville support a
recreational marijuana dispensary and recreational marijuana
activities, and I don't for a minute believe the majority of people in
Parksville support that," said Oates.

"It doesn't matter whether (the government) makes it illegal. We have
the ability to say, 'We don't want that business in our town.'"

The amendment failed, with Oates and Burden casting the only votes in
favour.
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MAP posted-by: Matt