Van City Council approves new bylaws regulating pot shops
Posted June 24, 2015 12:33 pm.
Last Updated June 24, 2015 4:43 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – New pot bylaws have been approved and introduced by the City of Vancouver. After several days of contentious public hearings and by a margin of 8-3, city councillors have voted in favour of regulating medical marijuana dispensaries within the city.
The bylaws impose a $30,000 licensing fee, require stores to be located 300 metres from schools, community centres and each other and it bans shops from certain areas.
Vision Vancouver, which holds a majority on council, supports the motion put forward by Councillor Kerry Jang. It also had the backing of Green Party Councillor Adriane Carr.
“Let’s do this properly. Let’s do it right to make sure people get access to their medicine, at the same time, regulate it, legalize it and tax it so we can all benefit from it whether you’re a patient or in terms of prevention programs and things like that,” says Jang.
The NPA is against the idea. Councillor George Affleck voted against it because he fears legal action from the federal government, which also opposes the bylaw.
“I think we’re just going to head into a bunch of court dates for the City of Vancouver and I don’t think that’s appropriate for us to make that decision. So, for that reason I will not support this today and it’s unfortunate because I do truly believe that medical marijuana can change people’s lives.”
Dana Larsen, who owns two pot shops in Vancouver, is worried he’s going to have to close down. Both shops are too close to two different community centres according to the new rules.
“People could say ‘well why don’t you just move somewhere else?’ But there are not a lot of places to go. Certainly in those neighbourhoods it’s either filled up with other dispensaries or schools or community centres that block out a lot of the area.”
He says he’s nervous, “unless we get some kind of change or variance to these bylaws. I haven’t given up hope yet.”
A couple of weeks ago, Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose said she was ‘outraged’ by a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that stated medical marijuana doesn’t just have to be smoked and that it was legal in forms such as cookies, brownies, teas and oil.
