Pubdate: Wed, 08 Jul 2015
Source: Vancouver 24hours (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Vancouver 24 hrs.
Contact: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/letters
Website: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3837
Author: Stefania Seccia
Page: 5

NO ACE IN THE HOLE FOR CITY'S MEDICINAL COMPASSION CLUBS

There's a slim chance Vancouver's oldest dispensaries and compassion
clubs will be able to stay put and avoid the steep regulations set out
by city council last month, but it's a risky alternative.

Jamie Shaw, president of the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis
Dispensaries, said a meeting transpired with Vancouver Coun. Kerry
Jang on Friday to address the community's concerns with the new
regulations and "to avoid some of the chaos that could be coming."

Vancouver voted in regulations disallowing all medicinal marijuana
shops from being located within 300 metres of other shops, schools,
community centres and neighbourhood houses. The new application
deadline for the dispensary licences is by August end - leaving little
time for most dispensaries to make a decision.

If a pot shop decided to remain at a location that doesn't fit the new
regulations, and its licence was declined because of it, it could
appeal to the four-member panel of the city's board of variance.

Shaw is also the spokeswoman for Vancouver's oldest running pot shop,
BC Compassion Club Society, which opened in 1997 and sits across the
street from a public school.

She said the only options open to them is to move or be granted a
variance from the board that would allow them to continue operating
across from the school.

"We're looking at a new home as well; any option at this point is
going to be a risk," she said. "Nothing's clear cut." Shaw said people
have already been looking "for every available space in Vancouver for
two years, and already know that space is limited."

Gilbert Tan, a Vancouver architect and one of the four board of
variance members, said any pot dispensary looking for a break from the
buffer rules would have to prove the hardship they're facing justifies
their location.

"We really have to look at both sides," he said. "What's key from our
perspective is it's a fair and balanced look at both the applicant and
also the impact of the neighbourhood."
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MAP posted-by: Matt