Pubdate: Sat, 20 Aug 2016
Source: Peterborough Examiner, The (CN ON)
Page: A4
Copyright: 2016 Peterborough Examiner
Contact: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/letters
Website: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2616

WEED STORES INHABIT A NEW, AND GREY, AREA

There are no villains in the current controversy over marijuana 
stores that are popping up in villages, towns and cities across Canada.

And the closest thing to a victim would be police forces left to 
decide whether to lay charges or wait for the inevitable legalization 
- - in some form - of a drug most Canadians don't see as particularly harmful.

Peterborough police are about to be caught up in the dance. A company 
that operates in several Ontario cities, GW Weed Emporium, has 
announced it will open a store downtown on George St. Sept. 1.

The federal government has been criticized from both sides of the 
legal/illegal pot debate for announcing its intention to legalize but 
not following through with legislation.

That's unfair given how events unfolded. Justin Trudeau made the 
Liberal party's intentions during the recent federal election 
campaign. Once elected, the Liberal government repeated that promise.

But the new government has a lot on its plate, most of it more 
pressing than marijuana policy. Legislation will likely come next year.

Many who were already selling storefront marijuana products as part 
of a growing grey market or had planned to jump in following 
legalization then stepped up their game.

Vancouver and Toronto saw a flood of "dispensaries" promising to sell 
only to those who have legal permission to buy federally sanctioned 
marijuana for medical purposes.

Some doctors have clouded the landscape by handing out letters 
verifying a medical need to virtually anyone who sought one.

Police forces, caught in the middle, have reacted judiciously. In 
Vancouver and Toronto there were public and political reactions 
against the number of dispensaries and often loose interpretations of 
the rules. Police started raiding some of the operations and laying charges.

That also happened earlier this week in the village of Roseneath, 
where Northumberland OPP charged the owner of a small store. Alnwick 
Township officials were surprised by the raid so it would seem the 
OPP acted entirely out of its own concern for the need to uphold the 
Criminal Code. It's hard to criticize the force for doing its job.

A GW Weed Emporium has been operating in Oshawa since April. Durham 
Region police checked it out but have not laid charges.

For now, that would be the best approach in Peterborough. Keep an eye 
on the business and its marketing techniques. As long as the promise 
not to sell to anyone under 19 or without a doctor's note is kept 
there is little advantage in tying up police and court time with a prosecution.

If the Liberal government decides not to allow storefront 
dispensaries as part of its new marijuana regime the store, and 
others like it, can quickly be shut down.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom