HELP US OUT, BUD
Marijuana shops go to court
Dozens of medical cannabis dispensaries began their court challenge Tuesday against the City of Vancouver and the federal government, arguing their shops fill a crucial need for patients unable to get reasonable access to pot through the federal government.
About 40 dispensaries brought a test case to the B.C. Supreme Court — which began hearing the case on Tuesday — and have all agreed to accept the decision.
The dispensaries said the federal government failed to include them in its plans for legalization on Oct. 17. And they argue Vancouver’s rules are so tough that many cannabis outlets can’t get city permits.
“We’re arguing that the (city’s) application process is too onerous and, essentially, the federal government has failed to provide what’s called ‘reasonable access’ for medical cannabis patients because the bulk of patients require in-person, storefront access to cannabis rather than the government’s failed mail-order program,” said Jack Lloyd, a Toronto lawyer representing a number of clients in the case.
Abbotsford lawyer John Conroy, also representing some of the dispensaries, said they have been operating illegally in kind of a “grey zone,” yet the city has abetted their existence by requiring them to be licensed while it makes a $30,000 profit in each case.
Conroy said the federal government must make rules that allow medical marijuana patients to buy their cannabis in a store, just as recreational users will be permitted to do starting next month. Patients are allowed to grow a limited amount of marijuana or have someone grow it for them, but Conroy said they have a constitutional right to buy it from a dispensary if a doctor has approved its use.
But Conroy said the federal rules and Vancouver’s bylaws are depriving medical cannabis users of that right.
“We’re simply trying to establish that there should be a separate, distinct provision for reasonable access by medical patients who simply want to go to a pharmacy equivalent or a store to get their product,” he said.
Upon legalization next month, cannabis retail stores will be the only legal source in Vancouver of recreational cannabis, according to the city. People who want to operate one of those stores must have a provincial cannabis retail licence, a city development permit and a city business licence. The province’s rules mean the city continues to control land-use approval and business licences for the stores.
Spokesman Jag Sadhu said the city is already seeking 53 injunctions in its attempts to close down illegal dispensaries — mostly ones that don’t meet the city’s tough rules that includes requiring dispensaries to be at least 300 metres from schools — and continues to ticket them. Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 29, the city issued 3,602 tickets against dispensaries.