Pubdate: Fri, 01 Feb 2013
Source: Record, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.royalcityrecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1654
Author: Marelle Reid

POT SHOP IS STILL OPEN - MINUS THE POT

The doors are open, but the shelves are still empty.

The New Innovations In Cannabis Education (N.I.C.E.) medical marijuana
dispensary at 907A 12th St. is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days
a week.

Potential clients and some curious passersby drop in regularly, but
only for information, as there is still no marijuana on site.

Since last summer, three staff members have been on hand to answer the
phone and chat with potential clients.

Justin Cleveland, president of the West Coast Green Light Society,
which runs the dispensary, says the reason the shop hasn't stocked its
shelves has nothing to do with the fact that neither the city nor the
police have voiced their approval.

"We still try and contact (the city) but it just doesn't look like
they're going to really want to be directly involved and really have
an input. So, as far as it stands, (it's) just internal things, and
trying to make sure everything's ready," he said, referring to the
set-up inside the shop.

Cleveland said he will not apply for a business licence because he
suggested that, as a non-profit, the society does not require a
licence to operate, and he noted no other city or police force with a
medical marijuana dispensary has officially condoned the operation.

"We're never going to get anything from the city," Cleveland said of
New Westminster.

"They're never going to say, 'Yeah, you're allowed to do what you do.'
No city has done that."

New Westminster city councillor Chuck Puchmayr said council members
got a briefing from the New West police chief at a recent council
meeting, which stated this type of medical marijuana dispensary should
not be permitted.

"If they tried to open, the city would probably end up taking them to
court," Puchmayr said of the society's plans to start dispensing
medical marijuana.

However, Puchmayr noted Cleveland would be within his rights to seek
legal council to challenge the city's current regulations around
medical marijuana possession and distribution.

"If the Supreme Court of Canada rules that we have to (allow) it, then
I don't know; we'd either buck that or we'd proceed with it, but he's
a long way from that."

Puchmayr said regardless of whether the West Coast Green Light Society
is able to proceed with its plans to offer medical marijuana, he
believes further discussion amongst city policy-makers would be beneficial.

"I don't want it (to be) seen as some-thing that's very simple to
get," he said. "But I do also want to see that people with serious,
serious illness that have positive impacts using medical marijuana - I
want to see the ability for that to continue."

So far, about 30 people have filled out the necessary paperwork to
become members in order to have access to the products once they
become available, Cleveland said.

The dispensary's website states the purpose of the non-profit society
is to, "educate and inform the public about the various uses of
cannabis while advocating for the safe availability of medical
cannabis to people with a legitimate medical need."

Purchasing medical marijuana from N.I.C.E. will require authorization
from a doctor or Health Canada, as well as becoming a member of the
society.

Cleveland said he has no set timeline for when he expects the
dispensary will begin full operations.
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MAP posted-by: Matt