The compassion club poised to stay underground
Uncertainty and fear.
Those are the prevailing emotions right now as Canada’s oldest medical cannabis dispensary — the B.C. Compassion Club Society in East Vancouver — gets ready to make a decision on whether to work within the new regulatory regime or stay underground, staff say.
Standing next to an electronic wall display and felt board featuring the dispensary’s array of products, administrator Marcel Vandebeek says ensuring an “uninterrupted flow of medicine to membership” and “consistency of product” are paramount, which is why directors of the non-profit society may be inclined to stay in the grey market.
“We’re potentially risking our liberty to provide services as is,” he says.
Unlike many dispensaries operating across Metro Vancouver, which have dropped requirements for medical notes in recent years, the compassion club still requires members to bring in a letter from a doctor confirming their medical condition.
Right now, members get access to exclusive strains from cultivators the society has relied on for years. If they were to switch to the regulatory regime, there’s no guarantee those relationships would continue, Vandebeek says, adding that there’s worry products from the large licensed producers just won’t be the same in terms of look, taste and effect.
In the first year of legalization, sales of edibles and topical creams will also be off-limits. And the government’s restrictions on potency are too restrictive for some patients, he says.
Another concern, if they go the legal route, is whether the products they order through the province’s Liquor Distribution Branch will arrive in a timely manner. Will the province’s government-run stores get first dibs?
There is, however, one big drawback to staying in the grey market that they can’t ignore: getting saddled with huge legal bills if the province’s law enforcers come down hard on them.
The province has indicated that it plans to form a team of cannabis enforcement officers to go after illegal retailers.
“There’s definite legal fears," Vandebeek says. "We’d have to be picky over what battle to fight.”
If they were to come in and raid the store, “you can only imagine the amount of money that would cost for bail and lawyers.”