Pubdate: Sat, 24 Jan 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Stephen Quinn
Page: S1

WITH MORE THAN 60 UNREGULATED DISPENSARIES, MARIJUANA RETAILING IS A 
WILD WEST SHOW

It's an "only in Vancouver" phenomenon that is so new it doesn't even
have a name yet. Let's call it "roaching."

Here's the scene: Monday night, on my way home from grabbing a beer at
one of the many fine craft breweries within walking distance of my
house. Two gangly young men are lurking under an awning on Commercial
Drive.

As I pass, one of them calls to me, "Hey, man."

I'm inclined to keep walking, but they look like decent kids. I turn
on my heel, "Yes?" "Can you go in there for us, man?" one of them asks.

He nods to the brightly lit entrance of the Health Lifestyle Herbal
Medicine store up the stairs.

"No," I say, with the authority of a man of my years whose generation
decades ago was reduced to scoring weed from scary dudes in generic
suburban mall parking lots. His face fell, and I moved on. "Roaching"
is the marijuana equivalent of "booting," which is, of course, when an
adult, on the way into a liquor store, is approached by under-aged
kids and asked to buy booze for them. I've always said no to them as
well.

But as I walked away, I thought, wait, this has to be way more
complicated than a six-pack of Kokanee. Don't you need a note from a
doctor?

Did one of them maybe have a note from a doctor? Would I have to
assume their identity and thus their ailment? Would I have to feign
symptoms? The place advertised a licensed herbal practitioner on the
premises. Would there be some sort of consultation?

All was answered a couple of nights later when I ventured up the
stairs. Signs on the door made it very clear minors were not welcome,
that a membership was required, and that Stephen Harper needed to be
stopped.

I asked about becoming a member and was shown three forms to fill out.
I needed one piece of government ID and a secondary piece of ID. A
second form was for contact information. On the third form, I had to
write in at least one symptom. The helpful young man behind the
counter marked a line with an "X."

"Don't fill out that part," he said. "That's for our doctor to sign.
It's just one of the hoops we have to jump through."

All around me, in glass display cases, were mason jars, labelled and
crammed with plump buds of marijuana in shades of green and brown. The
air was thick and sweet. Behind the cash register hung a reminder that
selected items are sold two-for-one on the 4th and the 20th of each
month.

So, yeah, buying some weed for the boys downstairs would have been
just slightly more onerous than getting them a six pack of beer.
Easier once I carried a membership card.

The signage outside is quite something. Keep in mind that the shop is
just steps away from the Britannia Community complex, which
encompasses, among other things, an elementary and a secondary school.

So every morning, scores of kids step off the bus to a pair of
colourful four-by-eight signs featuring pictures of mouth-watering
brownies and cookies, a variety of delicious tropical fruits and what
looks like cotton candy.

Cookies $5 and up. Candy $2 and up. Single joints $2.50, Jumbos for
$5. And something called Special Yum Yum Cake.

It would be the equivalent of allowing a private liquor store near a
school to post signs featuring brightly coloured self-contained
shooters, hard lemonade and other items designed to appeal to young
people.

The city says the pot shops are operating beyond its reach because
there is no class of business licence for a store that sells marijuana
and related products. The police mostly leave them alone unless
they're a nuisance or selling to minors because the stores aren't high
on their list of priorities. The fact remains that there is no legal
regime for the retail sale of marijuana in Canada.

I get that marijuana has a legitimate medical use. I've seen it calm
the spasms of a person stricken with severe multiple sclerosis. I've
met people with bowel disease who swear by it. And I'm certainly not
suggesting we deny it to a people being treated for cancer who have
found it is the only thing that brings back the appetite. I also have
no trouble with recreational use. (I did, after all, have a beer
called "I Braineater" under my arm on that first night when I passed
by the place.)

More than 60 dispensaries now operate in Vancouver. This is not a grey
area. The city's own bylaws state clearly that no one doing business
in the city may operate without a valid business licence. It also says
that the point of licensing businesses is to protect public health and
safety, and to protect vulnerable populations such as young people.

As it stands, with no regulation and very little enforcement, it's the
Wild West out there.
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MAP posted-by: Matt