Pubdate: Fri, 26 Jun 2015
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Laura Kane
Page: 10

VANCOUVER POT SHOP RULES EARN PRAISE AND CRITICISM

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is applauding Vancouver city
council for regulating medical marijuana dispensaries, but warns that
the new bylaws are too restrictive.

Policy director Micheal Vonn said patients will see their right to
edible pot - granted in a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision -
disappear with the city's ban on brownies and cookies from
storefronts.

Vonn also said the city's requirement that dispensaries be at least
300 metres from schools, community centres and each other promotes an
unfair stigma.

Council voted 8-3 on Wednesday to create a two-tiered system that
imposes a $1,000 licence fee on non-profit compassion clubs and a
$30,000 fee on for-profit pot shops.

Vonn praised the lower fee for compassion clubs, but said the higher
fee for other dispensaries still appears to be more than the city
would need to recover costs.

She said she appreciates that the city stepped into a "regulatory
vacuum," but the new rules will limit access for some patients.

"There's not even a question that it's for the federal government to
regulate. It is. The problem is that they're not. And meanwhile it's
patients' rights that are at issue," Vonn said.

The city has blamed restrictive federal laws for Vancouver's rise in
illegal marijuana dispensaries, up to 94 from fewer than 20 three years ago.

Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose has said she is "deeply
disappointed" by the city's decision and warned that storefront pot
sales remain illegal in Canada.

Canada's top court ruled earlier this month that medical marijuana
patients have the right to consume pot in edible products such as
cookies, brownies and teas.

The city says it's banning the treats because they appeal to children
and it's difficult to control their contents.

Patients will still be able to buy oils, tinctures and capsules to
make their own food.

But Vonn said this amounts to "second class citizenship" for medical
marijuana patients.

"Nobody asks you to go home and make your own Advil," she
said.

"The IKEA model of 'you can assemble these parts at home' is not even
feasible for all kinds of patients."
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MAP posted-by: Matt