Pot shops that have opened in North Vancouver are hoping to stay when the province creates regulations about how marijuana should be sold when it's legalized next year.

"Obviously we're hoping we'll still play a part in the whole thing. It sounds like there's room," said Michael Wuest, owner of the Weeds store at 991 Marine Dr. Wuest's was the first storefront to open up on the North Shore, in April 2015.

Six storefront "dispensaries" currently operate in North Vancouver, five of those within city boundaries.

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Over the past few weeks, the talk has really started to ramp up on one topic in Canada. It's not hurricanes, earthquakes and a war of (hopefully just) words between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un - all very serious, global problems. Not in Canada, dude, we're talking about pot.

As if we need any help with our reputation as the growers of ganja. B.C. has long been seen as a premier supplier of the best pot in the world, even when it was illegal to grow.

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The Kootenay Outdoor Producers' Co-op, a local coalition formed to create the first legal marijuana production operation in the West Kootenay, has elected its first board. The inaugural meeting for the co-op was held at Taghum Hall May 16 with a standing-room only audience. But president Todd Veri says there remain many uncertainties as Ottawa and the provinces drag their feet on finalizing legislation.

"We have been patiently waiting for some word or direction on the upcoming regulations from government and how they will apply to our business plan," says Veri. "Unfortunately, no information has been forthcoming. Will it be - as we initially feared - that preference is once more going to be given to large corporate weed factories?"

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What police have called an "illegal storefront business" continues to operate but minus a key aspect.

The City of Prince George granted WeeMedical a business licence on Sept. 13, two days after the chain agreed with a court order prohibiting it from dispensing marijuana.

The Third Avenue downtown store was the subject of an RCMP raid in early August.

Police seized a "considerable amount" of marijuana and cannabis-infused food as well as other items in support of charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Two people were also arrested and later released on promises to appear in court on Oct. 11.

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B.C. municipalities intend to debate next week how to press the provincial government to include them in its plans for cannabis as federal legalization approaches.

The Union of B.C. Municipalities will vote on a special resolution at its annual convention next Wednesday.

The resolution, which addresses their role in a provincial cannabis framework ahead of federal legalization expected next July, was put forth by the union's executive.

It calls for "fulsome and meaningful" consultation with Victoria, adequate provincial funding to cover costs related to implementing its framework, a fair share of taxes for cities and respect for municipalities' "choice, jurisdiction and authority" with regards to land use, zoning and other city hall concerns.

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With one year left in this term, council recently took the opportunity to reflect, refresh, and reset strategic priorities that were established at the beginning of our term. The pace we keep leaves little time for reflection and this was an important day. A portion of the day was spent discussing change: what was anticipated, what was not, and how council responded to emerging issues.

Council regulates. What this means is that council sets the framework on a number of issues for community through bylaws. Bylaws are constructed with the unique needs of community in mind. When council considers adopting new bylaws, it is done with the goal of developing balance between diverse community values and opinions.

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Marc and Jodie Emery are in trouble with the law again. Toronto police arrested them recently at Pearson International Airport on their way to Spain. Ten years ago I would have said, "Tough luck, you broke the law." The so-called Prince of Pot made a name for himself defying the law and thumbing his nose at authorities in his single-minded attempt to make marijuana acceptable, and legal.

His arrogance cost him four years in U.S. prisons, but he did his time and returned to Canada determined to continue his crusade along with his wife Jodie.

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Nothing seems to have the cops and local and provincial politicians scrambling more these days than their attempts to get ahead of the federal government's plans to make marijuana legal by next summer.

But that should hardly be too much of distraction to allow the toker in the Prime Minister's office, the cute and clever Justin Trudeau, off the hook when it comes to effectively dealing with a more immediately critical drug issue, the opioid crisis.

Yet is seems to have.

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While Trudeau gov't will look progressive, the provinces will do the heavy lifting

The federal government is set on legalizing marijuana by summer 2018. While they will enjoy the political payoff of appearing progressive, all the problems and the logistics of legalizing pot will fall on the shoulders of the provincial governments.

There are strong correlations between how a drug or an indulgence, such as gambling, is made available to the public and the propensity for individuals to indulge in it, and the negative health and social outcomes associated with its use.

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Re: "Postpone legal pot, police exhort feds," Sept. 13.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police seem to see their role as being an obstruction to the implementation of public policy. To this end, they want a delay of at least six months in the legalization of marijuana. They say this is necessary in order to train officers and certify more officers to conduct roadside tests.

Their overriding concern with the legalization of marijuana is a dramatic increase in the number of people driving stoned. Let me assure them this will not happen. They can sleep peacefully, without the fear that hordes of stoned zombies are suddenly going to be driving amok on our streets. Nothing is going to change. The simple fact is, people have been getting high for 50 years. The reason marijuana is being legalized is because almost everyone already uses it.

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Cannabis dispensaries should be afraid, very afraid, about what is in store when the federal government legalizes cannabis for recreational use.

Justice ministers are meeting in Vancouver and the House of Commons health committee this week has been examining the legalization law - and the clock is ticking for those trying to cash in on the current chaos.

There are widespread concerns about everything from the massive impact of legal cannabis on impaired driving enforcement to the fallout of allowing anyone over 18 to grow up to four pot plants.

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Federal minister, provincial counterparts meet to establish common ground on issues

After two days of meetings in Vancouver, the nation's justice and public safety ministers were vague and hazy Friday about what the looming legalization of cannabis will actually look like.

The ministers said they had a "robust" discussion about the weed, but seemed to agree only that many challenges remained - not the least of which was meeting what was called an "ambitious" July 1 deadline for ending the near-century-old pot prohibition.

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The B.C. government plans to consult with police, local governments and the public before deciding how to sell and distribute recreational marijuana once the federal government legalizes pot next summer.

Solicitor General Mike Farnworth told reporters Thursday that "all options are on the table," including selling marijuana through government liquor stores. "We have not made any decisions about that," he said.

Farnworth said the government intends to gather suggestions on ways to sell and distribute marijuana, as well as on the appropriate age limit for purchasing it.

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Provinces still looking for more direction from federal government

B.C.'s top cop says the province remains undecided on how it will tax, distribute and regulate the use of marijuana once the federal government legalizes it next summer.

Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said he hopes to hear more ideas from his provincial and federal counterparts Friday as they continue a meeting in Vancouver. Ottawa intends to legalize pot within 10 months, forcing the provinces to develop their own rules.

"It's certainly a challenging deadline, not just for British Columbia but all provinces, and I think both ministers and premiers have been saying that to the federal government," Farnworth said Thursday. "We know it is a challenge in B.C., but one we're working toward."

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Cannabis retailers waiting to learn fate

Like a vignette of small-town life, a laid-back shopkeeper sits at a yellow table beside the unlocked bicycle leaning against the storefront, smiles, puts down his coffee mug and greets a customer by name.

"Hey Fred, how ya doing?" Jeremy Jacob said to his visitor Thursday, welcoming his old friend into the shop.

Jacob and his wife Andrea Dobbs run a family business in Kitsilano, a bright, airy space where a loud waterfall rushes outside, dozens of cannabis products line the shelves inside, and a Pomeranian named Lego lounges on the ground.

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A federal New Democratic leadership hopeful has pledged to make it party policy to decriminalize petty drug possession if he is elected leader, supporting calls by an increasing number of health officials who say it would help lift the stigma around addiction.

Jagmeet Singh made his pledge on Sunday at an NDP leadership debate in Vancouver, a city that had recorded nearly 250 suspected overdose deaths by the end of August. Across British Columbia, 876 people died of illicit-drug overdoses from January through July of this year.

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The provincial health officer is asking B.C. schools to consider buying naloxone

The provincial health officer is recommending B.C. schools - including those in Sea to Sky area - obtain the tools to deal with opioid overdoses.

A letter sent to superintendents across B.C. said that while schools aren't considered high-risk environments, they are advised to have naloxone kits and train staff to use them.

This advisory comes in the midst of what provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall has called a "public health emergency" - the use of fentanyl has been blamed for a sharp increase in the amount of deaths from drug overdoses.

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Ontario's plan to sell marijuana from government-operated stores would never fly in B.C., a local pot advocate says.

Vancouver's Dana Larsen suggests a provincial government store could never compete with established and independent dispensaries in offering the same variety of products that consumers seek - such as different strains and edibles - and that the Ontario government won't be able to open shops fast enough to keep pace with demand.

"Police raids aside, I don't think this model of legalization competes at all with what current dispensaries can offer," he told Postmedia from Toronto, where he was attending the Karma Cup cannabis competition and festival on Saturday.

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The Trudeau government is set on legalizing marijuana by next summer. While they will enjoy the political payoff of appearing progressive on the issue, all of the problems and logistics of legalizing pot will fall on the provinces.

There are strong correlations between how a drug or an indulgence like gambling is made available to the public and the propensity for individuals to indulge in it, and the negative health and social outcomes associated with its use.

Provincial governments might want to draw lessons from the last time an illegal substance was legalized - alcohol - following prohibition in the late 1920s, as well as insights from the current public health efforts to eliminate tobacco use. For starters, it might make sense to make acquiring recreational marijuana reasonably expensive and somewhat difficult.

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* Drug deaths on Vancouver Island in July: 14

* Total drug deaths in B.C. so far this year: 876

At least 14 people died from illicit drug overdoses on Vancouver Island in July, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.

This is a decrease from June, in which 23 people died, but still places the Island and Victoria among the top regions for overdose deaths. From January to July, 138 people on the Island died.

Lisa Lapointe, the province's chief coroner, said the numbers are further evidence that the overdose crisis cannot be easily solved.

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