Nanaimo marijuana dispensaries want a good neighbour agreement with the City of Nanaimo that would cap their numbers and distance dispensaries from schools and daycares. The Nanaimo Cannabis Coalition, representing local marijuana dispensaries, called on council during Monday's committee of the whole meeting to hold town hall meetings around legalization and regulation, as well as to support recommendations to lay out guidelines, help it self-regulate better and prevent dispensaries from opening next to daycares. Matthew O'Donnell, coalition spokesman, said Nanaimo is looked upon in the industry as a "wild west environment." It's unregulated and experiencing an influx of dispensaries from outside Vancouver Island. A month ago a dispensary opened next door to a daycare centre, which made them decide action needs to happen, he said. [continues 361 words]
Authority will take action on marijuana dispensaries that sell food items such as brownies Pot dispensaries run the risk of action from Island Health if they continue to sell marijuana edibles, according to the health authority's top medical health officer. Marijuana-infused food, from cookies, to candies, brownies and chocolate bars have appeared on the menus of Nanaimo dispensaries but Island Health is now making it clear that preparing, selling or distributing the edibles is not allowed. Island Health banned the sale of marijuana edibles at Victoria's Gorge Medijuana Dispensary after environmental health officers responded to a complaint about sanitation in the customer service area and that it was selling edible products. It's through that process that the health authority learned several other dispensaries are also selling edible marijuana products, according to an e-mailed statement. [continues 754 words]
Island Health aims to open an overdose prevention site at Nanaimo's Wesley Street supportive housing complex this month. At a special council meeting Thursday, Nanaimo council authorized the use of 437 Wesley St., a supportive housing complex for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, to be used for Island Health's temporary overdose prevention service. Council also called for changes to the lease agreement between the city and province on the building and to the operating agreement to allow the property to be used for overdose prevention services through the existing operator, Canadian Mental Health Association, as well as to move forward on a joint public engagement process with Island Health for this site and a more permanent service. [continues 360 words]
Nanaimo city councillors want to know how the City of Victoria plans to regulate marijuana dispensaries, but there was agreement, something needs to be done about the pot shops here. Nanaimo continues to see dispensaries open and sell bud to brownies and T-shirts despite still being illegal. After an RCMP crackdown on dispensaries in December, council agreed to look at licensing regulation options, but the issue hasn't landed on the table for discussion yet with a staff report still in the works. [continues 366 words]
Report Looks at Process to Regulate Medical Marijuana Nanaimo city officials will explore options to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries as advocates call for standards. It's an important and positive step in the right direction, says Matthew O'Donnell, Nanaimo Cannabis Coalition spokesman and operations manager for Phoenix Pain Management Society, of the recent decision. "Realistically this is where the real work begins," he said. "The discussion is actually starting." Nanaimo city council called on staff last week to report on licensing regulation options for medical marijuana dispensaries, and will also consider a joint letter with the City of Victoria, asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when the federal government will have guidelines for municipalities on dispensaries and legalization. [continues 401 words]
Nanaimo's hospital is the first on the Island to offer a take-home antidote for fentanyl. Nanaimo Regional General Hospital's emergency department began handing out two-syringe Naloxone kits last week to offer people a take-home antidote for opioid overdoses like fentanyl and heroin. AIDS Vancouver Island in Nanaimo also offers the kit and Harris House plans to begin dispensing it in January, seeing it as a life-saving tool akin to EpiPen. The kits are paid for through the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and in part, a response to an increasing use of fentanyl in illicit drugs. [continues 436 words]
A steady stream of customers returned to Trees Dispensary Nanaimo on Friday, just three days after police raided the Bowen Road pot shop. The dispensary is back in business, although not without challenges. The store is short-staffed with the arrest of three employees, the phone wasn't working and credit cards were being run up manually without a point-of-sale machine. Even the display cases were looking a little empty. Where there used to be about five to six pounds (two and a half kilograms) of bud, there's now only one or two, says store manager Anita Roy - and that's only thanks to restocking efforts by the Trees chain, whose executives are determined to keep the Nanaimo store open. [continues 654 words]
ARRESTS MADE, products seized at three locations. Empty jars, T-shirts and the lingering smell of marijuana were nearly all that was left at Limelife Society dispensary Tuesday, as the owner closed up shop in the wake of police raids. Hash, bud, cookies and candy advertised in an online store menu were gone from the Nicol Street storefront. Twin paper cups had been left on a coffee table next to a crinkled scrap of rolling paper and a Nintendo controller, there were boxes of rolling paper on a shelf and the fridge was almost bare. [continues 522 words]
CITY STAFF concerned for children's safety at Maffeo Sutton Park Twelve drug needles found dumped in Maffeo Sutton Park children's playground this fall was a shock to city horticulturalist Margaret Mills, who says it's a rare find and "very upsetting." But it's nothing new for the downtown community, which is grappling with an uptick in discarded drug paraphernalia. A parent alerted Mills, who maintains the waterfront park, on Oct. 20 that there were 12 needles left in the children's playground. Six were still in a package, while the other half were used. [continues 518 words]
Dispensaries Hope They'll Get a Reprieve Police have taken no enforcement action against medical marijuana dispensaries since the deadline for storefronts to shut down passed last week, giving the Nanaimo Cannabis Coalition hope it's won a cooling-off period. But the Nanaimo RCMP never said enforcement would come on day eight or nine, says Supt. Mark Fisher. Ten medical marijuana dispensaries were given a seven-day deadline from the Nanaimo RCMP on Nov. 12 to shut down or face potential enforcement, including arrests of employees and patrons on site. [continues 372 words]
Nanaimo medical marijuana dispensaries will remain open, despite the threat of police enforcement. Medical marijuana dispensaries have reached out to government for clarity on potential new regulations and help in the lead-up to a deadline to stop selling marijuana. But dispensaries have no plans to close, according to the new Nanaimo Cannabis Coalition. "Our coalition has stated we will remain open =C2=85 because people need their medicine," said Matthew O'Donnell, coalition spokesman. Ten medical marijuana dispensaries were given notice last Thursday by the Nanaimo RCMP to stop selling marijuana and marijuana derivatives in seven days or they could face police enforcement, including the arrest of employees and patrons. [continues 293 words]
Medical marijuana dispensary managers plan a united front and appeals to government in the wake of an ultimatum from the Nanaimo RCMP to shut down shop or face arrests. The Nanaimo RCMP put 10 medical marijuana dispensaries on notice Thursday that they had seven days to stop the sale of marijuana and marijuana derivatives or they could be subject to police enforcement. Medical marijuana shops have been growing in number in Nanaimo, selling bud, tinctures and marijuana-infused brownies. Written notice, given to dispensaries by the RCMP, advises the establishments that they are operating illegally and are trafficking cannabis contrary to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and operating outside of Health Canada regulations. If the pot shops don't close, they will be subject to enforcement that includes arrests of employees and patrons, seizure of "offence-related" property and criminal prosecutions. [continues 685 words]
Dispensaries keep opening in Nanaimo despite lack of rules. Nanaimo city officials are looking at what can be done about pot shops, as illegal dispensaries continue to open across the Harbour City. A city report on the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries is now in the works, with staff members looking at how other B.C. municipalities approached the pot retailers and what options are available to local governments when regulating shops. Medical marijuana dispensaries have been growing in numbers, openly selling bud, tinctures, marijuana-infused candy and soda despite being considered illegal by the federal government. [continues 463 words]
A labelled and bagged chocolate brownie that rested between me and a 'budtender' last week represents everything wrong with B.C.'s budding marijuana dispensaries. It was an offering by a dispensary employee, made unsolicited to a non-registered, non-prescription-holding reporter. That's not supposed to happen and it raises the question of how 'Wild West' the frontier of medical marijuana has become. There's growth in medical marijuana dispensaries and Nanaimo isn't immune, with pot shops cropping up across the city. [continues 533 words]
A steady stream of customers file into Trees Dispensary Nanaimo, one of several places to pick up medical marijuana in the Harbour City. Cookies, brownies and B.C bud can all be found behind glass cases at the Bowen Road storefront, estimated to serve 1,500 people each week. Clients don't have to be medical marijuana patients as long as they declare they have a serious medical condition. It's not the first storefront to go to pot in the Harbour City to meet demand for medical marijuana. Despite retail pot being illegal and the city's refusal to license the business, more dispensaries are on the way. Two signs advertising dispensaries have cropped up along Terminal Avenue and Nicol Street. [continues 436 words]
Nanaimo's new medical marijuana producer is on the search for skilled labour. Tilray, the face of B.C.-based Lafitte Ventures, is looking to hire up to 60 employees as it prepares to open its new production facility at Duke Point. A job fair will be hosted this weekend for positions ranging from horticulturalists and trimmers to customer service representatives, security and marketing management. Work at the new medical marijuana facility has been underway since rezoning was approved by Nanaimo city council last December. According to Tilray, total investment to buy, renovate and create a state-of-the-art facility will reach more than $10 million once it's complete. [continues 276 words]
Comox Valley RCMP is bumping up forces in Cumberland this month after a home invasion left two men blooded and battered. Beginning this week, village residents will see more road-stops, traffic patrols and drop-ins from police at local pubs, said Mayor Fred Bates at a public meeting Monday. "It would (also) be very helpful if people would call in if they see or witness any issues ... it helps police and helps us as a community," he said. The extra forces in Cumberland are a result of a home invasion that happened on Allen Avenue, Feb. 14. [continues 291 words]
A former police officer will be giving parents a shot of reality, during an alcohol and drug seminar next week. Dwayne Peace, who served on Calgary's police force for 25 years, will share the latest in tricks, trends and trips local teenagers could be exposed to. "I have seen a lot of great kids make bad choices because they weren't aware of the consequences," he said. "I'm hoping that, armed with knowledge, parents can help their children make the right decision." [continues 188 words]
