Penticton pot shops still selling cannabis
Herald investigation finds 2 shops violating courtordered deals they signed to become ‘wellness centres’
Two local marijuana dispensaries are still selling weed contrary to court-approved deals their operators made last year with the City of Penticton.
The owners of Green Essence on Martin Street and Okanagan Cannabinoid Therapy on Westminster Avenue both agreed to become “wellness centres” by only dispensing advice about medical marijuana, not the drug.
However, an investigation by The Herald this week confirmed both shops were still selling cannabis.
City bylaw services supervisor Tina Siebert confirmed her staff are aware of the continued sale of marijuana at the dispensaries and are conducting an investigation.
Siebert declined to reveal specifics of the investigation, but said possible penalties include fines or legal action.
“I can’t speak too much to where we’re at with the legalities of (Green Essence and Okanagan Cannabanoid Therapy), but they signed a consent order for a wellness centre, so in that consent order they’re not to be selling,” Siebert said.
Both wellness centres declined to comment when contacted by The Herald.
Siebert noted violations of consent orders could also affect the shops’ ability to obtain business licences when marijuana becomes legal later this year.
“Ones that have been operating throughout this whole process, I don’t know if it would bode well for them, but there’s no grandfathering or anything like that,” Siebert said.
Herbal Green, a third dispensary that gave the city fits, relocated earlier this year to Okanagan Falls.
Last week, a B.C. Supreme Court judge fined the operator, Jukka Laurio, $15,000 for violations of various city bylaws.
Siebert said the penalty hadn’t been paid as of Thursday and, if still unpaid in November, will rise to $30,500, representing the full amount of fines Herbal Green accumulated with the city.
Laurio, in his own legal action, accused the city of unfairly targeting his business, which required the city to handle Herbal Green differently than other shops, Siebert said.
“It’s definitely interesting times being in this transitionary state and knowing (marijuana) is becoming legalized soon,” she added.
“We wanted everyone to comply. We just wanted everyone to be patient and wait, but some people obviously see it as a business opportunity and are all over it.”