Advertising flyer pulled over free pot promise
A Victoria dispensary’s campaign promising “free premium cannabis” was brought to a swift end this week after its flyer attracted the attention of police.
In keeping with the West Coast norms for marijuana, it wasn’t exactly a crackdown.
“My liaison officer rolled by and said, ‘Hey James ... we just got asked whether or not this was OK, and out of respect can you hold off on putting these out right now?” said James Whitehead, owner of the Gorge Cannabis Dispensary.
The Victoria police maintain two liaison officers to keep an eye on the city’s booming dispensary trade, and they found out about the flyer when a citizen sent a message to the department’s Twitter account.
In a region increasingly filled with sketchy dispensaries purporting to sell “medical marijuana,” Whitehead’s is actually among the most legitimate.
Located next to a pharmacy and a doctor’s office within the larger Gorge Health Centre, the dispensary has a clinical air and provides cannabis only to customers who have been certified for medical ma- rijuana by Health Canada — or who have a prescription from an MD.
At dozens of other Vancouver or Victoria dispensaries, pot can been had with as little as a 45-second consultation with a naturopath or, in some cases, the simple display of photo ID.
Nevertheless, the flyer’s promise of free pot “could be perceived as trafficking,” police said.
The deal offered on the flyer was a free gram of cannabis for every gram purchased. Whitehead said he was trying to attract legitimate customers who might have been patronizing less reputable dispensaries.
From a federal standpoint, any dispensary is illegal. Since new regulations kicked in last year, the only truly legal way to obtain medical marijuana is by buying it through the mail from one of 17 large growers licensed by Health Canada.
Nevertheless, on the West Coast and in several urban centres, storefront dispensaries have thrived for the sole reason that police have decided not to shut them so long as they stay out of trouble.
As Victoria police Insp. Scott McGregor told the Times Colonist this week, officers are more concerned with busting drug dealers selling heroin or crack cocaine.