Pubdate: Wed, 25 May 2016
Source: Powell River Peak (CN BC)
Page: 5
Copyright: 2016 Peak Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.prpeak.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/734
Author: Chris Bolster

CITY LOOKS AT REGULATION

Concerned Residents Voice Need For Reliable Medical
Marijuana

City of Powell River council has moved to have city staff begin
investigating the process of regulating medical-marijuana
dispensaries.

Councillor Russell Brewer motioned at the Tuesday, May 17, committee
of the whole meeting, with council chambers at capacity with medical
marijuana supporters, to have staff look into how the city can allow
the dispensaries to operate, similar to the way other BC municipal
governments have approached the increasingly widespread issue.

"I don't want to wait around for another two years while the feds wait
to decide how and when they are going to do what they may or may not
do," said Brewer. "We need to move on what we can control, and that's
location, size, hours of operation and who can go into these stores."

While marijuana is outside the jurisdiction of local governments to
regulate, the Local Government Act and Community Charter give local
governments the regulatory tools needed to address some of the
problems created due to the jurisdictional void; a legal grey zone
that has encouraged the proliferation of dispensaries in communities
throughout BC.

To address the same problems, cities including Victoria, Port Alberni,
Squamish and Vancouver have already moved forward to amend bylaws that
make it difficult to deal with the unlicensed businesses. City of
Vancouver issued its first business licence for a Point Grey
dispensary this week under changes it brought in last year.

"I'm really happy with [Powell River] council and the decision they
made," said Dan Clarke, director of Grassroots Botanicals Wellness
Cooperative.

The co-op is one of two Powell River dispensaries the city's lawyers
sent warning letters to on May 11, informing them that they were
operating outside of the city's business licensing bylaws. The
dispensaries faced steep daily fines of up to $15,000 if they did not
cease the sale of marijuana products.

Grassroots co-op shut its doors immediately, but WeeMedical Dispensary
Society on Marine Avenue did not. As of press time, WeeMedical was
still selling marijuana products.

Supporters of keeping the dispensaries open and concerned citizens
packed into council chambers to hear what direction council would take
on the issue.

"I was surprised at the misinformation and, dare I say, ignorance of
city council," said resident Jason Hygaard. "Maybe it's due to
miseducation or isolation from major metropolitan centres that have
had similar problems in the past. A penalty of $15,000 a day is
offensive; it's obscene."

Clarke and three of his co-op members spoke as a delegation to council
and said the closure will have an impact on medical users who are not
able to access other forms of cannabis medicine from the current
federal government program.

"The longer Dan's co-op is closed, the more we have to worry because
we may have to go to illegal drug dealers with products that could be
laced with things like fentanyl," said concerned resident Angela McKenzie.

While council was unable to talk specifically about why the letters
had been sent, due to the decision being made in a closed meeting,
council indicated that further information from that meeting would be
made public at its Thursday, May 19, council meeting.

In the meantime, staff will begin looking at what bylaw amendments are
necessary to license and regulate the dispensaries. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D