Council willing to allow only 55 amid a surge of overdoses, homelessness Grappling with a steady stream of fentanyl overdoses and the interrelated issues of drug addiction and homelessness, the City of Surrey has moved to limit the number of recovery houses that can operate in its boundaries. With 50 registered recovery houses and another 20 unlicensed facilities taking in people with severe addictions, city council this week said it is willing to permit 55 homes, and the rest must shut down. [continues 565 words]
City council willing to permit 55 homes but no more; rest must be shut down Grappling with a sustained fentanyl overdose crisis and the interrelated issues of drug addiction and homelessness, the City of Surrey has moved to limit the number of recovery houses that can operate in its boundaries. With 50 registered recovery houses, and another 20 unlicensed ones taking in people with severe addictions, city council this week said it is willing to permit 55 homes but no more, and that the rest must shut down. [continues 575 words]
B.C. Coroners Service says November results part of huge annual increase in fatalities As an unchecked crisis in fentanyl overdoses shows no signs of abating, at least 128 people died in B.C. in November alone, reaching 775 so far this year, according to Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner for the B.C. Coroners Service. In at least 374 of the cases, more than 60 per cent, fentanyl was a contributing factor in the death, Lapointe said Monday. And with labs not yet able to detect carfentanil in human tissue, the role of this even more powerful cousin of fentanyl has yet to be quantified. [continues 452 words]
As a crisis in fentanyl overdoses shows no signs of abating, at least 128 people died in B.C. in November alone, reaching 775 so far this year, according to Lisa Lapointe, the chief coroner for the B.C. Coroners Service. In at least 374 of the cases - more than 60 per cent - fentanyl was a contributing factor in the death, Lapointe said Monday. And with labs not yet able to detect carfentanil in human tissue, the role of this even more powerful cousin of fentanyl in the deaths has yet to be quantified. [continues 405 words]
Naloxone has seen a meteoric rise in use in British Columbia as an opioid overdose antidote. As of mid-December more than 755 people had died from overdoses, including 128 in November alone, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. Naloxone, however, has become a first-line response for drug users, first responders and others who witness an overdose. Here is a primer on what naloxone is, what it does and doesn't affect, and how prevalent it is in B.C. [continues 310 words]
Vancouver expects to legalize by the end of February the first 14 of at least 20 marijuana-related businesses now operating within city limits. On Monday, the city said it had whittled down 176 applications for the country's first legal retail marijuana stores to 14 that will now go before the development permit board for approval. Another six stores could be drawn from 19 applications that are deemed to be clustered too close to each other. The city has already refused 135 other applications because they didn't meet zoning requirements and were either too close to schools, community centres or public gathering places. [continues 274 words]
Evidence Suggests Youth, People Without Licences Were Sold Drugs Vancouver police have raided and shut down an unlicensed east Vancouver marijuana dispensary they say has ties to the Hells Angels motorcycle club. Following a two-month undercover operation, police moved in on the Limelife Society dispensary at 4866 Rupert St. on Wednesday, ending what appeared to be a brisk daily business in which anyone could buy a variety of exotic strains of pot without showing a medical marijuana licence. They arrested a 25-year-old man and later released him. [continues 724 words]
Some consider converting to compassion clubs to avoid $30,000 business licence fee Less than 24 hours after Vancouver enacted a two-tier licensing system to rein in an explosion of marijuana dispensaries, some for-profit shops are considering converting to not-for-profit compassion clubs to avoid paying a $30,000 business licence fee. But the city's requirements for those clubs, which would reduce the fee to $1,000, are onerous enough that at least one city councillor says it may be cheaper for them to just pay the city's higher fee. [continues 984 words]
VANCOUVER - Less than 24 hours after Vancouver enacted a two-tier licensing system to rein in an explosion of marijuana dispensaries, some for-profit shops are considering converting to not-for-profit compassion clubs to avoid paying a $30,000 business licence fee. But the city's requirements for those clubs, which would reduce the fee to $1,000, are onerous enough that at least one city councillor says it may be cheaper for them to just pay the city's higher fee. [continues 433 words]
Council Makes 'Historic' Move Toward Regulation Vancouver changed the landscape of Canada's cannabis culture on Wednesday, becoming the first city in Canada to regulate illegal marijuana dispensaries. The action, which will see a two-tiered licensing system aimed at weeding out for-profit dispensaries in favour of nonprofit compassion clubs, comes as the federal government continues to reject calls to loosen its drug policies. From Wednesday, dispensary owners have 60 days to apply for a licence and will have to qualify under tight criteria, including criminal record checks and limits on where their shops can be located. [continues 801 words]
Ottawa Tells City to Enforce the Law; Pot Activists Vow to Fight City's Regulation Effort Vancouver found itself facing a fight on two fronts Tuesday in its efforts to regulate and license marijuana shops. On one hand, the federal government increased its opposition to the city's plans and expressly told the Vancouver Police Department it should enforce Canada's drug laws. On the other, pot activists vowed to fight if the proposed city conditions come into effect. The proposals include $30,000 licensing fees and closing shops near schools and community centres, while allowing them in most commercial districts. [continues 639 words]
City could become the first in Canada to regulate the sale of marijuana Vancouver is about to become the first city in Canada where the business of selling marijuana will be regulated and permitted. Although the drug is illegal in Canada and technically only available to people by a mail-order, prescription system set up by the federal government, the city will permit the operation of dispensaries under a proposed framework that selects which businesses can open and imposes rigid operating conditions. [continues 987 words]
Proposal would make city first in Canada to license dispensaries Up to now, there has been a lack of clear and transparent regulatory framework from the federal government. Vancouver is about to become the first city in Canada to regulate the business of selling marijuana. Even though the drug is technically available only to people with federally issued medical marijuana cards, the city will permit the operation of dispensaries under a proposed framework that rigidly sets out who can operate businesses and under what conditions. [continues 431 words]
Licences said to cost up to $5K per year, depending on space Vancouver is about to become the first city in Canada to regulate the business of selling marijuana. Even though the drug is technically available only to people with federally issued medical marijuana cards, the city will permit the operation of dispensaries under a proposed framework that rigidly sets out who can operate businesses and under what conditions. The plan, which will go to city council Tuesday, ignores the legality of marijuana and instead tries to deal with the astronomical growth of unlicensed dispensaries over the last few years. As of mid-April, city officials count more than 80 such shops, a four-fold increase since 2012, when the federal government changed the rules for how medical marijuana users obtain the drug. [continues 198 words]
New city regulations will restrict where businesses can operate Vancouver is about to become the first city in Canada to regulate the business of selling marijuana. Even though the drug is technically available only to people with federally issued medical marijuana cards, the city will permit the operation of dispensaries under a proposed framework that rigidly sets out who can operate businesses and under what conditions. The plan, which will go to city council Tuesday, ignores the legality of marijuana and instead tries to deal with the growth of unlicensed dispensaries over the last few years. As of mid-April, city officials count more than 80 such shops, a fourfold increase since 2012, when the federal government changed the rules for how medical marijuana users obtain the drug. [continues 234 words]
No plan to enforce new federal law in Vancouver VANCOUVER * Police in Vancouver say they will not raid the city's many illegal medical marijuana dispensaries after a federal law takes effect on April 1 and reduces marijuana production and distribution to a handful of licensed premises. The city also will not make any extraordinary efforts to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries, even though most operate without city business licences. The Vancouver Police Department said it is aware of at least 29 illegal medical marijuana dispensaries in the city but doesn't go near them as long as they are selling only to people who have a medical marijuana permit. [continues 542 words]
City Won't Interfere If Illegal Stores Sell Only to Patients Vancouver police say they won't bust down the doors of the city's many illegal medical marijuana dispensaries April 1 when a new federal law will delegate weed production and distribution to a handful of licensed premises. Coun. Kerry Jang - who closely watches health issues - minced no words, saying the city believes the federal law interferes with the right of people to access medicine. As a result, the city won't make any extraordinary efforts to shut down "professionally run" medical marijuana dispensaries, even though most operate without city business licenses. [continues 1228 words]
Snowboarder Plans To Open Marijuana Dispensary In Whistler Ross Rebagliati, the Olympic gold medallist, plans to open up a franchise of medical marijuana shops that trade on his fame. Saying he had tried for 15 years to leave behind the badboy reputation that had been visited upon him by his infamous run-in with the International Olympic Committee - they tried to take away his gold medal from the 1998 Nagano Winter Games for testing positive for marijuana - Rebagliati plans to go fully into the potdispensing business. Legally. [continues 448 words]
'Drug Addiction Is a Health Issue, Not a Criminal Issue,' Says Philip Owen of Federal Government's Attempt to Shut Down Clinic With the future of Insite, Vancouver's medically supervised injection site, hanging in the balance, Mayor Gregor Robertson and five former mayors have asked the federal government to back off its Supreme Court of Canada challenge of the Downtown Eastside facility. In a letter Tuesday, Robertson and his predecessors said there have been numerous studies to show lives have been saved since Insite opened in 2003. They argue the facility is a medical service and worry that if the federal government insists on closing it, addicts will return to more hazardous practices on the street. [continues 624 words]
Poll: 70 Per Cent Of Canadians Want Mandatory Sentences For Drug Dealers Most Canadians believe they should be free to toke with impunity -- but their tolerance for marijuana use doesn't extend to other, harder drugs, according to a new national poll. The Angus Reid poll, released yesterday, also shows many Canadians (42 per cent) believe Canada has a serious nationwide drug abuse problem and 70 per cent want mandatory minimum prison sentences and fines for drug dealers and marijuana grow operators. [continues 180 words]
