Pubdate: Wed, 23 Sep 2015
Source: Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Nanaimo Daily News
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1608
Author: Jeff Nagel
Page: 12

EXPERTS TANGLE OVER LEGAL STATUS OF POT SHOPS

B.C. civic leaders heard conflicting views Monday on whether 
Vancouver's renegade approach to regulating marijuana retail stores - 
in defiance of federal government opposition - is legally defensible 
and a viable option for other communities..

Legal experts speaking to a forum on pot regulation at the Union of 
B.C. Municipalities convention agreed the storefront sale of 
marijuana is illegal in Canada.

But municipal lawyer Francesca Marzari said Vancouver is within its 
rights to set and enforce civic standards for pot stores that aren't 
shut down by police, who in Vancouver don't consider them a policing 
priority as long as they don't sell to youth or have ties to organized crime.

Tonia Winchester, a former Seattle prosecutor who co-chaired 
Washington's successful legalization initiative, said Vancouver has 
been thrust into the position, as her state was, of searching for 
solutions in the absence of federal leadership as legal rights to 
medical marijuana expand and legalization advocates push the envelope.

"It's not clear cut that it's a federal question only," Winchester said.

"I do think there is room for municipalities to take action similar 
to what Vancouver has done and create regulation to support what's 
already happening in reality - which is there are retail stores 
springing up all over the place."

Vancouver has 120 dispensaries now and is currently considering 
applications for a total of 176, of which 75 are for non-profit 
compassion clubs.

Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang predicted 15 to 20 will ultimately be licensed.

The city's onerous multi-step approval process bans pot dispensaries 
within 300 metres of schools, community centres, daycares or each other.

The new licensing system also bans the sale of baked or edible 
marijuana goods, out of fear they could be consumed by children, even 
though a recent Supreme Court ruling made it legal to possess and 
make edibles for medical purposes. Outlets that refuse a city order 
to close face fines of up to $10,000 a day.

Jang said advertising by Vancouver pot stores had become "crazy" with 
garish signage far beyond what any other business is permitted and 
scantily clad women and youth hired to promote pot products, 
including candy, on street corners.

The federal government has threatened to use the RCMP to close 
dispensaries if the City of Vancouver won't but Jang said he sees no 
reason to believe that will happen.

Winchester said Vancouver's approach could serve as a template for de 
facto legalization elsewhere but added it may be easier in cities 
policed by municipal forces rather than the RCMP.

She noted U.S. federal authorities have not cracked down on 
Washington's retail pot system even though marijuana remains illegal 
under federal law. But franchise lawyer Tony Wilson cautioned 
Vancouver's system remains fraught with risks for both the city and others.

He said marijuana storefronts are breaking the law, regardless of 
whether they sell pot from illegal grow ops or from licensed medical 
producers, whose product can only be obtained by mail order.

That puts landlords at risk of their buildings being confiscated 
under civil forfeiture law, said Wilson, who suggested Vancouver's 
steep $30,000 licensing fee might even be seen as proceeds of crime, 
making the city a "conspirator in illegal drug trafficking."

Landlords who rent to weed merchants have also had difficulty 
obtaining insurance, sometimes for the entire building or strip mall, he added.

Washington State, which legalized recreational marijuana sales in a 
2012 referendum, now has 250 licensed producers and 137 retail 
stores. The state has taken in $64 million in tax on marijuana so far 
in 2015, Winchester said.

A recent change will allow Washington's medical marijuana patients to 
buy from the retail recreational pot stores as well. They also have 
the option of growing their own - each patient is allowed up to six plants.

Canada's federal government has tried to outlaw home growing by 
permitted medical marijuana patients, but it continues pending a 
court decision.

Other municipalities continue to grapple with where to allow new 
federally licensed medical marijuana producers, which are to sell 
only by mail order to doctor-approved patients. Six such producers 
are already licensed in B.C., including Tilray in Nanaimo, whose 
application Winchester stickhandled.

Many more are proposed, including nine in Maple Ridge alone, and one 
on First Nations land near Penticton. Municipalities continue to 
worry they will unnecessarily industrialize good agricultural land.

The entire pot regulation landscape could shift again, some panelists 
suggested, if the federal Conservative government is toppled in the 
federal election.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom