The public will have a say in the city’s proposal to regulate the growing number of marijuana dispensaries in Vancouver after city council decided Tuesday to send the issue to public hearing.
The move, which is unprecedented by a Canadian municipal government, came after city manager Penny Ballem outlined a series of regulations to ensure the city has some control over the 85 pot shops.
Regulations call for an annual $30,000 licence fee for dispensary operators, criminal record checks and keeping pot shops 300 metres from schools and community centres.
“At this point, there’s too many,” said Ballem, who showed a map of the pot shops, most of which are downtown and east of Cambie Street. “We need to bring this into the best framework that’s possible under the circumstances.”
The circumstances are complex and related to current laws that exist in Canada where a person can obtain marijuana for an illness, if prescribed by a doctor.
Tied to the court ruling in 2001 that made possession possible for patients is the federal government’s move in 2013 to have all marijuana cultivated for medicinal purposes come from a government dispensary and delivered by mail.
While that law is now the subject of a legal challenge, pot shops in Vancouver continue to proliferate, growing from 29 in October 2013 to 85 this month.
None of the dispensaries are licensed by Health Canada, endorsed by a medical body or associated to any legitimate health service provider.
“Our goal was to actually regulate these businesses and reduce the risks and impacts while allowing access to people who are using marijuana for their specific purposes,” said Ballem, noting the city studied how dispensaries operate in Colorado and Washington State, where residents can legally purchase marijuana for recreational use.
Although Mayor Gregor Robertson and his Vision councillors are on record as favouring regulation and taxation of marijuana as a strategy to combat organized crime, the city’s powers are limited to managing land use, business licences and issues such as hours, noise and location.
Councillors used their time at the microphone Tuesday to ask questions of Ballem and city staff rather than make political speeches about the need for such regulations.
The mayor warned councillors the issue was whether council wanted to refer the matter to public hearing, which is where debate would occur and information provided by agencies including health and police.
Dr. Patricia Daly of Vancouver Coastal Health told reporters after the meeting that she supported council’s move to regulate the pot shops. Daly said the proposed regulations are the best approach to reducing the harms of marijuana use, particularly with young people.
“As a prevention physician, as a physician who believes we should base our decisions on evidence, we know that trying to shut these places down will just drive distribution of marijuana back into the illegal market,” she said.
Supt. Mike Porteous, who oversees the Vancouver Police Department’s major crime section, spoke briefly to council, saying police do respond to concerns about pot shops, despite complaints to council about the lack of enforcement on the illegal operations.
“I don’t want council to be confused to think that the police don’t do enforcement on these shops,” Porteous said. “If it’s aggravated or it’s not in the public interest, or there’s a level of danger or organized crime or risk to children, we will do enforcement.”
Porteous told reporters after the meeting the VPD didn’t have an official position on whether it supports the city’s move to regulate the pot shops, although he said “any kind of regulation helps.”
“Because it’s completely the Wild West right now,” he said. “At least we could somehow monitor it, if we have bylaws. But I understand all the political implications, too, and I don’t want to wade myself into politics.”
During her presentation to council, Ballem, who is a trained hematologist, noted there are studies that have shown the health benefits of marijuana use. She also pointed out studies have shown health concerns for young people who use the drug, including memory loss and “reduced psychomotor performance.”
That is an area federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose focused on in a letter she sent to Robertson last Thursday, saying she was “deeply concerned” about the city’s move to regulate pot shops.
“The evidence is clear that when youth smoke marijuana they have increased risks of developing mental health issues, including psychosis and schizophrenia,” Ambrose wrote. “We also know that regular, long-term marijuana use in youth can harm concentration, memory and the ability to think and to make decisions, and it can also produce paranoia and anxiety or nervousness.”
Ambrose said Canada’s drug laws are clear and do not provide municipalities with the authority to legitimize the commercial sale of marijuana, which remains an illegal substance.
“Storefronts and dispensaries do not operate with a ‘grey zone’, and the law is clear: they are illegal,” the health minister concluded.
Marijuana activist Neil Magnuson, who is a member of the United Cannabis network, said he supported council’s move to have the issue hashed out at a public hearing. But, he said, he was opposed to criminal record checks, the $30,000 licensing fee and the rules related to proximity of shops to schools and to each other.
“I can’t think of why a criminal, if he’s done his time, shouldn’t be able to get a job at a dispensary,” Magnuson said. “Why keep someone from turning their life around and getting a job in a place that really does good in our community?”
The proposed regulations will mean some pot shops will be forced to close, particularly those located within 300 metres of schools and community centres.
“We will not let one dispensary get shut down,” Magnuson said. “If they try that type of enforcement, we’ll be there en masse.”
The public hearing is expected to begin sometime at the end of May, or early June. If council supports the regulations, it would then open up an application process for potential operators, who would undergo a detailed review before being granted a business licence.
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