Pubdate: Mon, 22 Feb 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Mike Hager
Page: S1

POT DISPENSARIES FACE HURDLE IN 'RIDICULOUS' BOARD REVIEW

Board of Variance to Hear From Marijuana Shops Seeking to Work Around 
Strict City Zoning Bylaws

Dispensaries seeking a reprieve from the strict buffer zones of 
Vancouver's new pot-shop bylaw have been dealt a blow by an 
independent development board, which appears set on keeping the 
number of storefronts to a minimum.

The Board of Variance will hear from 58 dispensaries over the next 
nine months after it dismissed the first four pot-shop appeals last 
week because they were 300 metres from designated sites such as 
schools and community centres.

If an appeal is granted, then an applicant can move on to the next 
stage of licensing and apply for a development permit.

Many in the sector - still illegal under federal drug laws - are now 
second-guessing the regulatory process they voluntarily agreed to 
participate in after city council voted in the new rules last June.

Chuck Varabioff, owner of the BC Pain Society, said the board gave 
short shrift to his argument that the Commercial Drive dispensary 
provides cheap medicine to 15,000 members, many of whom have low 
incomes and take public transit in from outlying suburbs. Mr. 
Varabioff, who made headlines when his store began operating Canada's 
first pot vending machine, said customers will be underserved if the 
board denies all the upcoming appeals and only a dozen or so 
dispensaries remain open.

"It's going to be absolutely ridiculous. ... I honestly don't know 
how a handful of stores are going to handle all the customers," Mr. 
Varabioff said. "That's why I feel the city didn't really think this 
out too well."

Provincial politicians are pushing for pot to be sold through liquor 
stores or pharmacies - not dispensaries - once recreational use is 
made legal by the federal Liberals, but Vancouver is continuing with 
its landmark regulation that could see these illegal storefronts 
winnowed down from more than 100 to just several dozen this year. 
Regardless of where recreational cannabis is eventually distributed, 
the City of Vancouver has said face-to-face sales of the drug must 
follow these rules.

So far only 14 applicants have made it to the second of three licensing stages.

The first new business licence is expected to be issued this spring 
and, come April 20, those dispensaries still not taking part in the 
application process will be asked to voluntarily close down.

Councillor Kerry Jang, governing Vision Vancouver's spokesman on 
marijuana issues, said the Board of Variance seems to be "applying 
the bylaw very strictly right now," but said he expects more leniency 
toward those locations that have the support of nearby schools.

Jamie Shaw, spokeswoman for the BC Compassion Club Society, said it 
would be ironic if her organization is denied an appeal when it comes 
before the board on April 20.

That's because the city's requirements for a special compassion club 
licence - which offers a discount to non-profit dispensaries that 
provide other on-site therapies - was "based pretty heavily" on her 
group's model, she said.

"If anybody gets a variance it will be us: We've been there for 18 
years," Ms. Shaw said.

She said her organization has the support of Stratford Hall private 
school, a "trusted neighbour" that operates kitty-corner from the storefront.

Ms. Shaw, who is also president of the Canadian Association of 
Medical Cannabis Dispensaries trade association, said it will be 
interesting to see what operators do once they are ordered to shut 
down in April.

Mr. Jang said there will be zero tolerance for those shops that 
continue operating without a licence, or an ongoing application, 
after the city's grace period ends, but those that are closed can 
reapply to operate in other locations.

"That's what they wanted; these pot shops said they wanted to be 
treated like any other business and that's exactly what we're doing," 
Mr. Jang said.

The city will use fines, court injunctions and, in "extreme cases" 
the police department, to shut down those that don't comply, he added.

Mr. Jang said he didn't know how many dispensaries are needed to 
adequately serve the Vancouver market.

"With 20 [ dispensaries], there would be adequate access throughout 
the city because they would be placed throughout the city and they 
would be regulated and monitored to make sure kids and people remain 
safe," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom