Motacan Compassion Society is exempt from business licence requirement, operator argues A medical marijuana dispensary is suing the City of Abbotsford in an effort to remain open and avoid paying thousands of dollars in tickets. Motacan Compassion Society, which operates a storefront location in an alley off Montrose Avenue in downtown Abbotsford, says it is exempt from bylaws requiring a business licence due to its not-for-profit society status. In a petition filed last week in B.C. Supreme Court, "principal operator" David Smith claims Motacan is a registered society that provides "reasonable access to medical cannabis to members of the society on a highly subsidized basis." [continues 266 words]
Margaret Trudeau gives impassioned speech on mental illness at UFV Margaret Trudeau, a self-described hippie child of the 60s and 70s, has spent much of her 68 years in the spotlight - a light whose glare has been less than flattering at times. Her name was first plastered across Canadian headlines in 1971, when she married Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, a man nearly 30 years her senior. She remained in public view for many years after, as that marriage fell apart, as she partied with celebrities, when her youngest son died and, more recently, when her son Justin Trudeau, followed his father's path to the prime minister's office in 2015. [continues 746 words]
No business licence means store must close, city says The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary battling the City of Abbotsford to stay open has filed a constitutional challenge, claiming the city has no right to ban pot shops. In court filings submitted this month, Don Briere, who operates marijuana dispensary Mary Jane Glass and Gifts on South Fraser Way, claims many of Mary Jane's patients are unable to obtain marijuana elsewhere due to low incomes, disabilities or both. Briere, who owns a dozen similar locations in B.C. and Ontario, most of which are named Weeds Glass and Gifts, shut down a previous shop on Clearbrook Road after the city brought an injunction against it in January because it lacked a business licence. [continues 384 words]
Fraser Health strategy for overdoses includes supervised facilities Fraser Health is working to identify priority sites for supervised drug consumption as part of a broader strategy to contain a surge in illicit drug overdoses. At least one of those sites should be in Abbotsford, according to local advocates. Surrey is certain to be one of the proposed locations, but health authority officials aren't yet saying if they will also propose sites in other drug-troubled downtowns such as Langley City, Maple Ridge and Abbotsford. [continues 787 words]
Marijuana magnate vows to keep operating dispensary The City of Abbotsford is seeking an injunction to shut down another pot shop and ban its owner from the city, but the owner, Don Briere, says he will keep the store open, no matter how the judge rules. The city filed the request on Tuesday against Mary Jane's Glass and Gifts on South Fraser Way, as well as ban Briere from opening any similar businesses in the future. Briere, who owns over a dozen dispensaries in B.C. and Ontario, was denied a business licence by the city, which requires compliance with all Canadian laws. Legislation passed by the previous Conservative government and still on the books states all medical marijuana must be bought and sold directly from Health Canada and delivered by mail. Last month, the Supreme Court overturned the law's provisions banning homegrown marijuana, although it gave the governing Liberals six months to write a new law. [continues 248 words]
