Pubdate: Tue, 15 Sep 2015
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2015 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Contact: http://www.leaderpost.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html
Website: http://www.leaderpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Authors: Chris Morin and Charles Hamilton
Page: A4

THREATS WON'T CLOSE POT CLUB: OWNER

SASKATOON - Despite threats of jail and huge fines, the head of the 
Saskatchewan Compassion Club won't shut his doors.

Mark Hauk of Saskatoon's first medical marijuana dispensary is one of 
13 pot club owners across Canada who have received an emailed notice 
from Health Canada warning of possible RCMP raids.

The letters state that the owners may face legal action if they don't 
stop selling or advertising marijuana. The letter Hauk received 
threatened two years in prison and fines of up to $5 million.

When asked if he was worried about police shutting down his 
operation, Hauk said it has been an ongoing concern ever since he 
began selling dried cannabis and other marijuana products.

"I don't take being arrested or going to jail lightly," said Hauk. 
"The reality is we were well aware before the letter was issued that 
we were operating outside the federal regulations."

Saskatoon police are continuing their wait and see approach when it 
comes to dealing with Hauk's dispensary.

The board of police commissioners discussed the issue Monday, but 
Chief Clive Weighill said he is still waiting for direction from the 
federal government on whether to charge anyone in relation to the 
storefront pot dispensary.

"We are working with Health Canada and the federal prosecutions on 
this," Weighill told reporters after Monday's meeting.

"We don't want to go in and charge somebody, then end up getting some 
bad case law out of this."

The store has been met with some opposition, much of it coming from 
licensed providers who say that without a proper licence the store is 
operating illegally.

Prairie Plant Systems is the only licensed provider of medical 
marijuana under the federal system.

The company's president Brent Zettl said he has a problem with 
dispensaries like the one in Saskatoon.

"If we were having a discussion on whether or not to open up a 
dispensary for fentanyl or unknown sources of OxyContin, we wouldn't 
having this debate," Zettl told members of the city's board of police 
commissioners.

Dispensary owner Jerry Martin, who operates Martin Medical Services 
in Whitewood, also received a letter from Health Canada.

He believes the notice is political in nature, and says it won't 
affect his decision to keep his doors open.

"It was shocking but we aren't stopping," said Martin. "We are 
helping to change people's minds on the matter. I'm going to put 
myself at risk for their risk."

Health Canada has not identified the other dispensaries that received 
the warning but Hauk said he has heard of other organizations 
receiving the email, including several in B.C., and is unsure why his 
club was targeted.

"They are coming after clubs like ours over what they claim to be 
advertising, which we don't participate in," said Hauk.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom