Pubdate: Wed, 30 Sep 2015
Source: Abbotsford News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Abbotsford News
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/BkAJKrUD
Website: http://www.abbynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1155
Author: Laura Rodgers
Page: A3

CITY TO SHUT DOWN MEDICAL POT SHOPS

Mayor Not Satisfied With How Long Process Will Take

The City of Abbotsford is taking steps to shut down two medical 
marijuana dispensaries.

Two outlets - Mary Jane's Glass and Gifts on George Ferguson Way, and 
a similar shop on South Fraser Way - have opened in Abbotsford in 
recent months. "We don't want to see them in Abbotsford, and we will 
move to have them removed," said Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun.

Both are co-run by Weeds Glass and Gifts Limited, a Vancouver-based 
medical marijuana group.They sell dried marijuana, concentrated 
resins, marijuana-infused food products, and pills and tinctures 
containing marijuana-based ingredients, as well as smoking and 
vaporizing equipment.

The stores only sell their products to people age 19 and over with a 
valid medical marijuana prescription. They don't have prescribing 
doctors on site, but they can arrange appointments with doctors who 
are willing to prescribe medical marijuana. Marijuana dispensaries 
are not allowed in any Abbotsford zoning, and they also contravene 
federal laws that only allow medical marijuana to be distributed 
through specific Health Canada-approved channels.

Other cities such as Vancouver have opted to license and regulate 
marijuana dispensaries in order to control where they can operate and 
what they can sell. But so long as these shops are against federal 
laws, Braun said he won't support them in Abbotsford.

"As long as it's illegal, I will support enforcement to make sure 
that we don't have any in Abbotsford," he said.

Both dispensaries applied for Abbotsford business licences, but were 
rejected. Braun said the city isin the process of notifying the 
businesses they are breaking city bylaws. If they don't respond, he 
said, the city can go to court and request an order to shut the 
dispensaries down. This process is lengthy, and Braun is unhappy with 
how long it might take.

"It just takes too ... long for me," he said. "We're following a 
process. It may appear that we're not doing anything, but we are."

Don Briere, who runs Weeds Glass and Gifts Limited, says these 
businesses are good for the community because they allow people to 
obtain marijuana without funnelling money to criminal organizations. 
"We draw money away from organized crime," he said. He said he will 
continue to operate the Abbotsford businesses without licences, in a 
political move. His company also operates dispensaries, many of them 
unlicensed, in other cities.

"We are trying to be part of the community," he said. Briere 
advocates for the full legalization of marijuana, citing the tax 
revenues the drug brings in for the American states where it is 
legal. He says the drug can be helpful to patients with chronic pain.

He's still hiring employees for the two local stores, and plans to 
have three or four employees working at each location.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom