Pubdate: Fri, 15 Jan 2016
Source: Nelson Star (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Black Press
Contact:  http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/nelsonstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4866
Author: Will Johnson
Page: A1

NELSON'S DISPENSARY COUNT REACHES FIVE

The City is impatiently waiting for the federal government to move
ahead with marijuana legalization

Nelson Mayor Deb Kozak is impatiently waiting for Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau to follow through on his promise to legalize
marijuana,especially now that a sixth illegal storefront dispensary is
rumoured to be moving to town.

"I think it certainly demonstrates that there are plenty of
entrepreneurs in the community anticipating legalization and leaping
ahead,"she told the Star.

"I'm wondering how many of those would survive over time in such a
small community,and I don't know if all of them are catering to the
same customer base."

Regardless, the city still isn't granting business licenses to these
operations and is viewing them as illegal.

Currently five dispensaries operate in Nelson.The Nelson Compassion
Club, Cannaclinic and Kootenays Medicine Tree are all clustered around
the intersection of Front and Hall streets; there's one in Urban
Legends on Baker St.; and the Kootenay Compassion Collective opened in
the former Front St. campaign office of MP Wayne Stetski last Friday.

"We are certainly monitoring these dispensaries closely and so are the
police," said Kozak. Before the Star met with the owners of Kootenay
Compassion Collective, they had already introduced themselves to the
police.

"The city will not have them opening near schools or any places like
that, and we will act on complaints received," Kozak said.

Mahalakshmi and the Kootenay Compassion Collective

The Kootenay Compassion Collective (pictured above) is part of a
larger vision for the Front St.space where it resides, and the owners
have already applied for a business license for the retail and healing
part of their operation, Mahalakshmi.

"When we went to the city, we told them we have two separate
businesses in the same location - is that allowed? They were all
aboard for that," said operator Chander Nath. Their operation includes
a communal room, multiple offices and even a space for children to
wait for their parents.

It's easily the largest dispensary operation currently operating in
Nelson.

"We put the passion in compassion," KCC's CEO Alison VanNest told the
Star. Along with Nath and Lita Moth, she hopes to create a communal
space where people can meet with doctors, receive massages and
counselling, and purchase their medicine all in one place.

VanNest said she became interested in cannabis when she used it to
wean herself off oxycontin, among other traditional medications. She
has two replaced hips.

"I had this terrible accident and I was on oxycontin for four years,
being in a wheelchair, learning how to walk again. I used cannabis to
get off it. And another big revelation for me was when I started
ingesting it and realized I could sleep through the night."

She believes many in the community could benefit from the medicines
she's discovered.

And though all three are nervous about this undertaking, and about
outing themselves publicly as working in the cannabis industry, they
believe it's time.

There will be a grand opening for the space on Jan.
23.

A proactive approach

The two police officers currently keeping an eye on Nelson's
dispensary situation and liaising with those involved are Sgt. Nate
Holt (pictured above) and Det.-Cst. David Laing.

Holt said the situation is "complex."

"It's been a polarizing issue around here for generations," he said.
"For the police, taking a prohibitionist attitude is not the way to
make any advances. For us the way to go is open dialogue so we can
come to a solution together."

Ultimately, it comes down to public safety for him.

"We want the people consuming the medicine to be kept safe, the people
running these businesses to be kept safe, and we're always ensuring
public safety. That's a pretty basic part of our job."

In one instance last year a dispensary was potentially going to share
an entrance with a children's clothing store. When concerns were
raised, police intervened. Holt said that's what they'll continue to
do.

The trouble is the legal "grey area" they're currently operating in,
he said. He seconded Kozak's sentiment that the general populace is
getting impatient for legalization to move ahead.

"There's a few different pieces of legislation pulling us in different
directions, and we're hoping eventually we're going to get a clear
sense of what we're supposed to be doing."

He emphasized the police aren't sitting on their hands, and they're
taking a proactive approach to keeping the dispensary situation in
check.

"There's going to be different opinions even amongst police officers
about what being proactive looks like. For us I think it's about being
conversant, not adversarial, with these dispensary operators. We want
to make sure they know they can come talk to us too."

He noted the police's mandate is to ensure everyone's safety,
including those running these businesses.

"We serve them just as much as we serve anybody else."

Sensible BC launches petition

Herb Couch, Nelson's local representative for Sensible BC, a cannabis
advocacy organization, said he's pleased with the current dispensary
situation in Nelson.

"I think it's great we have dispensaries because the federal medical
marijuana distribution regulations weren't working for people. I'm
glad the police have seen fit to allow them to operate as long as
there are no problems."

He said there's a double-sided danger: under-regulating and
over-regulating.

"If we don't do a good job on this, it won't successfully kill off the
black market. But as far as Nelson goes, I think things are working
well and I know there are medical users all throughout the West
Kootenay accessing our services."

He doubts the community can support six dispensary storefronts, but
figures "the market will decide."

"The fact that they're still here means there's a need," he
said.

Sensible BC is launching an online petition in the next week, urging
the government to move forward on the legalization process. They're
also demanding pardons and expunged records for those imprisoned
solely for cannabis offences.

But the most important thing is ensuring communities have input into
the evolving situation, he said.

"I would hope the federal government would allow the local and
provincial governments to come up with their own regulations. There
would be lots of input into what would work in our community,and we
have a lot of expertise here."

Community engagement, cannabis education

Kootenays Medicine Tree's director Jim Leslie (pictured above), who
spoke at last week's WomenGrow event at the Hume Hotel and is teaching
a course on marijuana through the Learning in Retirement program, said
it's time for dispensaries to come out of the shadows.

"We need to be careful in the message we're sending. We need to talk
about peer-reviewed science and our own experiences. We want to
educate society as we move into a system that can regulate cannabis on
a wider scale," he said.

Leslie contacted the city about getting a business license, but was
turned down. Cannaclininc applied for a business license, but it was
rejected, though a petition urging the city to grant one has now
garnered 600 signatures.

According to Pam Mierau, Nelson's manager of development services, the
city is "in the process of amending the business licence bylaw to
allow council the ability to better regulate the sale of medical
marijuana. Given the uncertainty around what the federal government is
going to do, it's a bit unclear what approach municipalities should
take."

Kozak said her hands are tied, and the city won't move ahead with
granting these licenses. But they're looking at the example of other
communities, such as Kimberley and Vancouver, and are mulling their
options.

Sooner rather than later

According to Kozak, the current federal distribution program for
medicinal marijuana is woefully inadequate.

"Where the law has fallen short is that currently the only way for
medicinal marijuana users to receive their medicine is through the
mail, which doesn't seem to me like the most efficient way.There needs
to be places in town where they can access the medicine they need."

She said if marijuana is legalized for recreational use, that's a
whole extra element to cope with.

"If they're going to go that far, let's look at the whole ball of wax
- - who's producing, the quality controls, everything. This industry has
such great potential, and it's ripe for exploitation."

Kozak is hopeful legalization could benefit the impoverished, women in
particular.

"If this is something people are well educated in and they know what
they're doing and it provides a source of income, I think that's
great. But I also know where there's money to be made, all sorts of
people are attracted."

Which is why we need regulation, she said. And that's not the city's
responsibility.

"We're urging the government to act sooner rather than later," she
said.

The Star contacted all the dispensaries in Nelson, but three of the
five declined to comment.
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MAP posted-by: Matt