Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jan 2014
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Glenda Luymes

POT DISPENSARIES EXPECTED TO SURVIVE

Health Canada: New Regulations Do Not Allow Storefront or Retail 
Distribution of Medical Marijuana

It's no Subway or Supercuts, but potential franchisees may want to 
consider Weeds Glass & Gifts.

A sign in the pot shop's front window advertising "franchise 
opportunities" speaks of owner Don Briere's optimism in the face of 
looming new regulations on the way medical pot is distributed in Canada.

"We operate in a grey area right now, and we'll continue operating 
that way come spring," Briere told The Province on Thursday.

Health Canada's new regulations, which come into effect April 1, do 
not allow storefront or retail distribution of medical marijuana. 
Authorized users - there are 18,890 in B.C. - will soon have to order 
pot from licensed commercial growers, who'll arrange delivery.

In theory, the new system ought to render Weeds Glass & Gifts obsolete.

But Briere said he's expecting business as usual: "Nothing will change."

Pot activist Dana Larsen also predicted dispensaries "will remain 
just as illegal as (they) ever were" - and just as popular.

"There's been an explosion in the number of dispensaries in Vancouver 
and across Canada," said Larsen, a director with the Canadian 
Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries (CAMCD).

There are about 30 shops and lounges in Vancouver now, the majority 
having opened in the past two years.

This summer, the CAMCD launched a certification program for 
dispensaries, which are, according to Larsen, protected by both the 
tolerance of some city councils and repeated court decisions that 
hand operators light penalties.

"We definitely see a role for dispensaries moving forward," he said.

Dispensaries are just the "middle man," he explained, with operators 
buying pot from growers - who may or may not have Health Canada 
authorization to grow medical pot - and selling it to patients, who 
likewise may not have the proper authorization.

Larsen said patients must prove their medical need for pot products.

"Vancouver police would shut us down if we sold it to anybody coming 
in with a backache," he said.

Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang said he doesn't anticipate dispensary 
closures in April. He recalled a Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting 
where Health Canada presented its plans for changing the medical 
marijuana system.

"It was met with a very, very unhappy reception," he said.

When asked how the government planned to shut down the more than 
10,000 existing medical grow ops in B.C. (the locations of which 
remain unknown to local governments), Health Canada officials said 
they would be sending a letter explaining the changes.

"We were told there would be zero resources for enforcement," said 
Jang, "so mayors basically said, 'You got us into this mess, you get us out.'"

The Vision Vancouver councillor said he's waiting to see if the 
regulations will be updated to reflect local governments' concerns 
about enforcement.

In the meantime, he feels medical marijuana patients should have 
access to affordable medicine.

"The needs of the patient should always be paramount," Jang said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom