Pubdate: Sun, 26 Jun 2016
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Page: D6
Copyright: 2016 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Louise Dickson

PLENTY OF POT, BUT WHERE'S IT FROM?

Growth of Dispensaries in B.C. Increased Demand; Where Supplies Come 
 From Unclear

Customers of Victoria's marijuana dispensaries have to rely on pot 
luck. While the bottle of Pinot Grigio at the liquor store shows 
where the wine was grown, the alcohol content and whether it contains 
sulphites, customers are not told where the marijuana sold at local 
dispensaries is coming from.

"No store will tell its clients exactly where they get it from," said 
James Whitehead, owner of medical marijuana dispensaries in Sooke and 
Victoria. "It's not like a vineyard where they say: 'Here it is on 
the vineyard map. Go drive by and have a look.' There are no tours of 
the grow facilities. They are clandestine operations."

If a dispensary is primarily interested in profit, it may purchase 
heavily fertilized marijuana that is inexpensive and grown in large 
quantities, Whitehead said. Shops may also choose to sell this 
inferior marijuana at a large markup under the guise of medical 
marijuana, when it is essentially recreational marijuana.

Medical marijuana, used therapeutically for pain control and appetite 
stimulation, is grown to a higher quality standard, Whitehead said. 
Some dispensaries are being supplied by high-quality producers of 
medical marijuana who grow organically or use methods similar to 
those used by licensed producers, he said.

In the past, under Health Canada's Medical Marijuana Access 
Regulations, medical-marijuana patients knew exactly where their 
marijuana was coming from.

"They were permitted to grow it in their backyards or their basement 
and were in control of all aspects of production - what they fed it, 
how much water they gave it, how long they dried it, what strain they 
grew. People were obtaining very-high-grade cannabis that provided 
therapeutic benefit at a very low cost," Whitehead said.

Under Health Canada's Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, 
Canada's 31 licensed producers get their cannabis tested for heavy 
metals, biological impurities and pesticides, and have to label the 
TCH and CBD content, the two main ingredients in the marijuana plant.

But Victoria's 32 dispensaries, which range from the pristine and 
luxurious to thinly disguised dope dealers, are unregulated. Victoria 
Mayor Lisa Helps hopes city staff will bring a draft business bylaw 
regulating dispensaries to council this month.

In the meantime, where the marijuana comes from is a major issue, 
Whitehead said.

"If the liquor store told customers: 'Bill brews it up in his 
backyard, trust me it's safe,' you might have some concerns you're 
going to go blind if you drink it. Unfortunately, cannabis services 
are doing exactly the same thing. They're saying: 'Here's a bunch of 
marijuana. We promise it was grown in x,y, z way. Please believe us.' "

Consumers who are not educated or who are new to cannabis have to 
rely on what the dispensary tells them, Whitehead said. It can be 
hard to tell good-grade cannabis from bad-grade cannabis just from 
looking at it.

Information about who grows cannabis is a trade secret, he said.

"If you start telling people who grows and where it's being grown, 
you could find yourself in a lot of trouble with people you don't 
want to be in trouble with," Whitehead said.

"There is definitely an element of organized crime involved in the 
production of large quantities of cannabis on Vancouver Island, and 
that element extends into the ownership of the dispensaries as well."

Testing of marijuana in dispensaries in California, Washington and 
Colorado has found some pot to be very high in biological impurities 
and pesticides.

Some online reviews of local dispensaries indicate the same thing 
might be happening here. Customers are complaining about bad, dry, 
disintegrating bud, or marijuana with a heavy chemical aftertaste. 
Some pot shops are dropping the ball on quality and consistency, say 
their critics.

At least half the dispensaries in Victoria are direct outlets for 
growers, who have an interest in dispensaries upping the return on 
the product they grow.

Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall said it's anybody's guess 
where the marijuana being sold in the illegal dispensaries is coming from.

"According to police, a fair number of the suppliers are still run by 
criminal outfits. But I would guess that some are also run by growers 
who aren't Hells Angels or Vietnamese syndicates," Kendall said.

The health authority does not believe the product is coming from 
Health Canada's licensed growers because they would be risking their 
licences if they supplied illegal outlets, Kendall said.

Some growers have been growing for years in little boutique 
operations, just like vineyards, and do know the potency and test the 
product, Kendall said. For example, Vancouver Island's Compassion 
Society would probably have a source it thought it could trust.

"But there's nothing to stop a fly-by-night operation opening up, and 
you have to take the word of the person who is selling to you, that 
they've got it from a reliable source," Kendall said. "That's the 
important thing - there's no way objectively of anyone in the city or 
the health department checking on that."

Victoria police say they are working with the city to ensure that the 
health and safety of the community is protected.

In a statement, police said officers and city staff have been in 
contact with all of the dispensaries, "letting them know that 
continuing to sell in our community opens them up to enforcement action."

The priority for enforcement will be outlets that sell to youth, 
cases involving violence or the presence of weapons, and those where 
there is any indication of organized criminal activity, police said.

Staff at some local dispensaries stand by their products, saying they 
hire knowledgeable staff and their products are safe and have been tested.

An owner at Victoria's Natural Way medical marijuana dispensary on 
Fort Street said the store is getting its marijuana from medical 
marijuana producers on Vancouver Island.

"They're the ones that are under the old code called MMAR [Medical 
Marijuana Access Regulations]," said Jeremy, who did not want to give 
his last name. "They are the ones who are able to grow it for 
themselves and their patients, and we just work with them because we 
know they have years of experience and know how to do it the proper way."

The marijuana is inspected for mould and pesticides, he said. All the 
products in the store are labelled for THC content, the psychoactive 
chemical that makes people high.

"We want to make sure that our clients get the right dosage and don't 
get too high or too low because people can have reactions if they get 
too high," Jeremy said. "We want to make sure everyone has the proper level."

Marijuana at Oceangrown Medicinal Society on Cook Street comes from 
growers who test their products through the federal government, said 
Natasha Simpson.

"They send samples to them and get the test results back. We never 
sell product that we don't know what's in it."

A couple of the growers are silent partners in the dispensary, and 
the silent partners know the other growers, Simpson said.

"My information is very slim. All I know is they test their product 
and most of the product is veganic or organic," Simpson said. Vegan 
gardening uses no animal products or byproducts.

"The majority of dispensaries that I know and are in contact with are 
amazing people. They are small-business owners who just want to help 
their community."

For his part, Whitehead is calling on city council for oversight as 
it contemplates a dispensary business bylaw.

"Imagine saying: 'This is Bob's farm at 123 Sooke Rd. He uses this 
fertilizer and this soil mix. We've tested it and here's a video of 
his production room.' "

Several dispensaries declined to be interviewed or did not return phone calls.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom