The straight dope on pot shops: Washington state versus B.C.

One year after Washington state legalized the sale of marijuana, B.C. remains bound by Canadian drug laws that consider pot sales, except to about 40,000 authorized medical users, illegal.

The status quo is being challenged, not just by marijuana activists, but also by municipalities, which are grappling with ways to handle consequences of pot prohibition, including illegal grow-ops, gang violence and organized crime.

In some of B.C.’s biggest cities, marijuana dispensaries increasingly dot the landscape. Their rapid growth — about 135 at last count in the province — has been partly attributed to the federal government’s move in 2013 to ban homegrown medical marijuana in favour of a handful of licensed industrial-scale producers.

In June, Vancouver became the first municipality in Canada to regulate dispensaries in open defiance of Ottawa. City Coun. Kerry Jang described the move as a “common-sense approach” to deal with the explosion of pot dispensaries, which, according to city figures, grew from less than 20 in 2012 to more than 80 by April 2015.

Other cities are expected to follow suit. Victoria is looking into imposing similar regulations that would impose restrictions and hefty licence fees on dispensaries.

Pot shops: Washington state versus B.C.

Are they legal?

Wash.: Yes. Recreational marijuana sales were legal as of July 8, 2014. However, use of marijuana remains a federal crime.

B.C.: No. The federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act only allows for the purchase of pot for medicinal purposes from 25 licensed producers and only through the mail. All medical-marijuana dispensaries operate illegally. Number of marijuana retailers.

Wash.: 171 licensed stores. B.C.: 135 and growing, according to the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries. By its count, Vancouver has almost 100; Victoria around 18. Price of a gram of weed (enough for two fat joints).

Wash.: $11.52, including taxes, at a licensed store.

B.C.: $8 to $12 at dispensaries. Priceofweed.com, a crowdsourced website that tracks black-market pot prices around the world, pegs the average price of pot on the street as $6 to $7, depending on quality.

Cost of a business licence.

Wash.: $250 for a licence application fee and a $1,000 renewal fee.

Vancouver: $30,000 for retail stores, $1,000 for non-profit compassion clubs.