Marijuana entrepreneur to tell city council that banning pot shops will only help organized crime

Continuing to ban pot shops with marijuana legalization on the horizon just helps organized crime, Kelowna city council will hear next week.

A would-be retailer of the drug says Kelowna will “suffer the consequences” if it moves forward with a plan to explicitly prevent the sale of marijuana in local shops.

“To keep cannabis out of the hands of children, and the profits out of the hands of criminals, regulating access to cannabis should be a high priority,” says information given to the city by Mark Conlin, on behalf of a firm called Starbuds.

“The status quo is no longer an option,” the company’s material states. “Choosing to do nothing means your community continues to suffer the consequences.”

Starbuds is a Kelowna-based company that claims on its website to have marijuana retailing franchises operating or soon to be opening in seven Canadian cities.

The company describes itself as the “green standard in medical cannabis,” with stores that are “operating in clean, comfortable, and safe environments.”

But the sale of marijuana is currently illegal in Canada, even to those who possess a medical licence to use the drug.

That’s a point the City of Kelowna intends to make plain in proposed amendments to a zoning bylaw that covers the operation of retail stores.

The amendment would specifically prohibit the sale of marijuana in retail outlets. Interested members of the public can offer their views on the proposed amendment at a meeting set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Kelowna City Hall.

Representatives of Starbuds are so far the only individuals who have indicated an interest in speaking at the meeting, the city clerk’s office said on Thursday.

Once the federal government legalizes marijuana, municipalities are expected to have the power to regulate pot shops.

Cities could impose controls on where pot shops are located, for example, set limits on their hours of operation, and require operators to go through rezoning processes which would permit neighbours to comment.

So there is no guarantee that existing pot shops will be allowed to remain where they are after the drug’s legalization, even if the owner has bought the property or made substantial renovations.

“People who want to open a (pot shop) right now, should not,” Mayor Colin Basran said at the April 10 council meeting.

“It’s not a business. It’s an illegal enterprise,” Coun. Brad Sieben said at the same meeting.

Coun. Charlie Hodge, however, took a different view than the rest of his colleagues, and suggested the city should not attempt to regulate or restrict where marijuana can be sold after legalization.

“I don’t see any reason why (pot shops) shouldn’t be treated like any other retail outlet,” Hodge said. Imposing controls, he said, is an “archaic” approach that would create a “stigma” around the sale and use of pot.