Pubdate: Thu, 11 Jun 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: Matthew Robinson
Page: A7

PASSIONATE DEBATE OVER CITY'S PLAN TO REGULATE POT SHOPS

City Council Has Just Started Hearing From Over 160 People WHO Have 
Signed Up to Offer Input on the Controversial Strategy

A city plan to regulate Vancouver's budding crop of illegal marijuana 
shops sparked impassioned debate at a tightly packed city hall 
hearing late Wednesday.

By the time the hearing began, more than 160 people had signed up to 
tell Mayor Gregor Robertson and city councillors what they thought of the plan.

"These hearings should not be taking place," said Connor Fesenmaier, 
a member of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada, and one of the 
first to take the microphone.

"The federal government has made it abundantly clear these 
dispensaries are illegal operations and it remains an open question 
as to whether or not city servants or employees can be charged for 
conspiring to violate federal laws," Fesenmaier warned.

The city's move to regulate the industry comes as the count of pot 
shops in the city nears 100. All 98 of them are illegal because 
federal law permits the sale of medical marijuana but only by mail, 
through licensed, registered producers.

The city's proposed regulations ignore the question of legalizing 
pot, and instead look to control the way and speed that the illegal 
industry is growing.

Oana Nicoara, the general manager of EGGS CANNA, which runs a pair of 
compassion clubs in Vancouver, applauded the city's move to get involved.

"I think it's great that you are not buying into the federal 
(position) and the demonizing of medical marijuana," Nicoara said.

"Canada as a nation is looking at us and I really think we have the 
platform to do something great."

Under the plan, the city would levy a hefty $30,000 annual 
administration fee on each pot shop and require them to pay for 
business licences. Shop owners would have to reapply annually and 
they and their employees would be subject to annual criminal record checks.

The city would not allow dispensaries within 300 metres of schools, 
community centres or each other. They'd also be banned from side 
streets, the Granville entertainment district and in the Downtown 
Eastside, other than along Main and Hastings streets. Marijuana 
infused edibles would not be allowed in any shops, and existing 
outlets would not be grandfathered past the new regulations.

Maryann Abbs, a clinical herbalist at the B.C. Compassion Club 
Wellness Centre, urged the city to waive the $30,000 administration 
fee and grandfather in any non-profit shops like hers.

Kirk Tousaw, a lawyer who recently took marijuana users' fight to 
continue growing their own plants to Federal Court, commended the 
city for its leadership role but took issue with some parts of the city's plan.

"It's particularly in relation to edibles that I think this bylaw 
falls a bit short. ... If you're dealing with chronic pain, (they) 
are the preferred method," he said, adding that if edibles are 
banned, people will simply be left to make their own and struggle to 
figure out appropriate doses.

Before speakers were offered the microphone, Patricia Daly, the chief 
medical health officer and a vice-president at Vancouver Coastal 
Health, presented statistics and recommendations on minimizing 
negative health consequences of the industry.

She released figures that showed St. Paul's Hospital saw 63 patients 
for marijuana intoxication after the 4/20 protest. Of those who 
disclosed what they had taken, 36 took edibles, 13 smoked pot and 
five did both.

She added that VCH would like to see marijuana packaging disclose the 
potency of each product, but that is not something the city or region 
could regulate.

Rona Ambrose, the federal health minister, restated her objections to 
the city's plan in a news release Wednesday.

"Storefronts selling marijuana are illegal and under this 
Conservative Government will remain illegal. We expect the police to 
enforce the law," she said.

Fewer than a dozen speakers had a chance to speak in the first three 
hours of the public hearing. With scores more waiting to speak, it 
could be days before the mayor and city councillors will be able to 
vote on the issue.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom