Should pot shops call themselves ‘dispensaries?’
Posted August 22, 2015 8:55 pm.
Last Updated August 22, 2015 9:55 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Just when you thought the medical marijuana debate might be coming to an end in Vancouver, pharmacists are speaking out against the term ‘dispensary.’
The BC Pharmacy Association is calling on the city to prevent medical marijuana shops from calling themselves dispensaries. The association claims the term is creating confusion.
Vancouver city councillor Kerry Jang says he will be asking staff whether the word ‘dispensary’ can even be limited to pharmacies.
“Many things including liquor outlets are also known as dispensaries. Why isn’t the Pharmacy Association complaining about bars and things that use that name? Certainly, the word ‘pharmacy’ has a very clear meaning, whereas with the word ‘dispensary’ is not that clear,” Jang says.
Jang doesn’t think there is cause for concern and will be asking staff if singling out pot shops is even legally possible.
“I think people clearly understand that a pharmacy is very different from a dispensary. I’m just a little disappointed that the Pharmacy Association didn’t raise too many issues during the public hearings earlier this year. This issue was not one of them,” says Jang, who will be taking the question to city staff this week.
Marijuana shop owners have August 31 to apply to the city for a licence to operate, after the city decided to impose guidelines about where they can be located and what they can sell.
