Pubdate: Fri, 24 Apr 2015
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Peter O'Neil and Jeff Lee
Page: A1

OTTAWA BLASTS CITY POT SHOP PLAN

Health Minister Rona Ambrose sends letter to mayor, warning
dispensaries are illegal

The federal government drew battle lines with the City of Vancouver
Thursday over the city's plans to regulate marijuana dispensaries,
saying they are dangerously close to legitimizing an illegal substance.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government said municipal governments
have no authority to regulate and license businesses that sell pot.

"I am deeply concerned by reports that the City of Vancouver intends
to discuss a proposal to regulate illegal drug dispensaries at an
upcoming council meeting," Health Minister Rona Ambrose told Mayor
Gregor Robertson in a letter.

Vancouver's growing sector of dispensaries goes beyond the federal
government's 2013 regulations on the sale of pot for medical purposes,
Ambrose said. She dismissed city manager Penny Ballem's argument that
the city is not seeking to regulate the drug itself and that federal
rules have created a "grey zone," leading to an explosion of pot
dispensaries. "These regulations are clear and do not provide
municipalities with the authority to legitimize the commercial sale of
marijuana, which remains an illegal substance," Ambrose wrote to
Robertson. "Storefronts and dispensaries do not operate within a 'grey
zone,' and the law is clear: they are illegal."

Ambrose's unambiguous letter came a day after the city said it intends
to wrestle down a growing unlicensed pot dispensary market operating
under the guise of providing access to medical marijuana. New rigid
rules, if adopted, would control who can operate pot shops and
prohibit them from operating within 300 metres of schools, community
centres and other dispensaries. Successful dispensary applicants will
be charged a $30,000 annual administration fee, the highest in the
city's suite of licence fees it charges businesses. The nearest fee to
that is $16,331, which the Pacific National Exhibition pays for its
annual fair.

Ambrose's letter made no concrete demands, but it appears to set the
stage for another showdown with Vancouver over federal drug policies,
especially as they relate to health.

In 2003, citing a rising level of drug overdoses, the city approved
the first supervised injection site in North America. It initially had
the support of the federal Liberal government, but the Harper
government in later years repeatedly tried to shut it down. In 2011,
the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the federal government's
decision to deny Insite a special health exemption from criminal law.

Last year, the Vancouver Police Department told Ottawa its officers
wouldn't shut illegal pot dispensaries when a new law delegated weed
production and distribution to a handful of licensed operators.

A statement from Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney's office also
condemned Vancouver's initiative.

"The fact is that marijuana use is still illegal in Canada," spokesman
Jeremy Laurin said. "We expect all local cities and police to respect
and enforce the law."

Provincial Justice Minister Suzanne Anton said only that B.C. will
examine whether the city has the jurisdiction to do what it is proposing.

Experts weighed in Thursday on both sides.

Municipal lawyer Jonathan Baker, a former Vancouver councillor, said
the city "is skating on thin ice" by trying to regulate businesses
that are clearly illegal.

"They can't license a crack house any more than they can license a pot
dispensary. Any action that contravenes criminal law would be trumped
by federal jurisdiction," he said.

The city prohibits legal businesses all the time, and it has the
authority to get rid of illegal ones, too, he said.

If city officials believe marijuana should be legalized, they should
push for it, he added. "But you don't simply break the law by taking
money for a business that is prohibited federally."

However, Neil Boyd, a B.C. criminologist, said Ottawa's warnings may
be little more than rhetoric given that the RCMP does not police the
city.

"In real terms, there is little that the Harper Conservatives can do
about the approach Vancouver is taking - and I don't think they really
want to do anything, at least in practical terms," said Boyd, head of
Simon Fraser University's criminology department.

"Most Canadians believe that marijuana use and distribution should be
regulated in accordance with public health, and not regarded as a
crime. This is not conduct deserving of moral condemnation and the
possibility of imprisonment.

"But in an effort to support their core constituency, the government
remains quite willing to trot out this rather outmoded tale of moral
condemnation. It's just rhetoric, not any kind of practical action."

He pointed out that Justice Minister Peter MacKay has mused publicly
about the possibility his government will bring in a ticketing regime
for simple pot possession.

Pot activist Jodie Emery applauded the city's direction, saying it
will help the argument to legalize marijuana.

"I think it is positive because it sends a message to both the
provincial and the federal government and all other local governments
that marijuana is not going away, marijuana is big business and since
dispensaries are operating here without significant problems or harm,
it is time to treat them like other businesses as best as they can,"
she said.

Emery also warns that the city's yet-to-be approved rules around where
dispensaries can operate and who can own them may be too stringent.
She said the annual administration fee of $30,000 is too high.

"Regulation is good because it means acceptance, but over-regulation
can kill an industry and cause problems and maintain a black market,"
Emery said.

Ballem admitted the administration fee is high but said it reflects
the fact seven city departments, including police, fire, inspections
and planning, as well as the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, have
to oversee the plan.
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MAP posted-by: Matt