Pubdate: Thu, 24 Sep 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Laura Kane
Page: S3

POT SHOPS PLAN TO FIGHT AS REJECTIONS LOOM

With only a small portion of licence applications expected to be
approved, dispensary owners are already thinking about appeals

Medical marijuana dispensary owners who stand to be uprooted by
Vancouver's sweeping new regulations say they won't disappear without
a fight.

Vancouver Councillor Kerry Jang estimated this week that only 15 to 20
dispensaries will be approved after the city processes a whopping 176
applications for business licences. But owners who are expecting
rejection letters say the initial red light from the city will only
mark the beginning of a months-long process of appeals and even legal
action.

"With any new rules or regulations or licensing, it will take a long
time. I do know a lot of dispensaries will file lawsuits," said Chuck
Varabioff of the British Columbia Pain Society. "I'll never file a
lawsuit against the city, but I definitely would appeal if I'm told
that I have to move."

Mr. Jang said in an interview the city is not imposing a cap on
dispensaries, but only 15 to 20 shops are likely to meet its strict
requirements - including a clean criminal record and a ban on
operating within 300 metres of schools, community centres and other
pot shops. The councillor, who first revealed the estimate to local
politicians at the Union of B. C. Municipalities convention on Monday,
said it was his own calculation and not an official figure.

"That's based on me keeping track of all the various players and
people who I've observed in the industry for these last few years," he
said. "I keep track of who, for example, has been caught selling to
minors."

Although Vancouver currently has more than 100 dispensaries, Mr. Jang
said 15 to 20 would be more than enough to serve the city's medical
pot patients. "Many of them are clustered in the same area," he said.
"The new bylaw would make them spread out."

He said the city is set to begin issuing licences in December. Owners
who are rejected can then appeal to the Board of Variance, which has
authority over council and city committees.

The BC Pain Society is one of two dispensaries on Commercial Drive
that is within 300 metres of a private school. The other is
Vancouver's oldest dispensary, the BC Compassion Club Society.

Spokeswoman Jamie Shaw said the Compassion Club has been serving
severely ill and elderly patients since 1997 and has never heard any
complaints from the school, which was built several years later. "Our
best guess is that we will be turned down for the licence because of
the school. Then we will go to the Board of Variance and hopefully
they will understand that we've been here for 18 years," she said.

Don Briere, owner of Vancouver's largest marijuana dispensary chain,
Weeds Glass and Gifts, applied for nine business licences and hopes
one or two will be approved. But he's also preparing for the loss of
business in Vancouver by looking at expanding into neighbouring
municipalities, including Burnaby.
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