City of Powell River officials are waiting for a decision from the province’s highest court before making a decision on how to handle the opening of a non-profit marijuana dispensary chain outlet on Marine Avenue.
WeeMedical Dispensary Society, based in Nanaimo, set up shop on Wednesday, April 13. The dispensary opened without a business licence and city officials said they did not receive an application, despite the city’s requirements that all businesses be licensed. Powell River RCMP has said it considers the operation illegal.
In January, City of Abbotsford applied to the BC Supreme Court for an injunction to close a dispensary that opened last fall without a business licence. Pot activist and shop owner Don Briere appealed the decision; the case is before the BC Court of Appeal. The court’s decision is expected in the coming weeks.
“This is becoming a nightmare for local governments across the province,” said City of Powell River councillor Maggie Hathaway at the Tuesday, April 19, committee of the whole meeting.
The burden of medical marijuana dispensaries should not fall on local government to solve with bylaws, said Hathaway. Provincial and federal governments should be taking a more involved approach, she added.
Without assistance from higher levels of government, response to the dispensaries has been mixed. Some, like City of Abbotsford, have issued injunctions to stop dispensaries from opening up, while others have issued business licences, amended zoning and created bylaws to regulate them.
Hathaway’s council portfolio is protective services and she leads an informal committee that includes mayor Dave Formosa, RCMP staff sergeant Rod Wiebe and other city emergency responder representatives. Hathaway said she wants to meet with the committee to put plans in place for how the city can approach the problem.
“It’s a criminal bylaw issue. Do we deal with this through the RCMP as a criminal offence or do we deal with it through a bylaw because they don’t have a business licence?” she said. “We really need to do some brainstorming to see what is the best route to take. We need to take some sort of action, but I’m unsure what that should be.”
Federal Justice minister Jane Philpott announced on Wednesday, April 20, that the Government of Canada will pursue marijuana legalization next year.
Councillor Russell Brewer said in light of the federal government’s plans, he would like to see the city take a more conciliatory approach to the dispensary.
Brewer said he would like to have staff prepare a report on how City of Victoria and Port Alberni have taken steps to regulate dispensaries, including provisions to keep minors out of the shops.
Despite the issue of the whether pot will be legalized, Hathaway said the business operating in violation of the city’s bylaws without any action being taken sends the wrong message.
“Dealing with marijuana may not be the city’s job, but making sure businesses that operate in the city are licensed, that’s our bylaws and we need to enforce them,” she said.
Hathaway said she was fine with waiting for the results of the appeal, but in the meantime she said she wanted the city to be prepared with plans for either result.
As long as marijuana continues to be illegal, without amending its bylaws the city would not be able issue a business licence to the dispensary, said chief administrative officer Mac Fraser at the meeting.
A representative of WeeMedical declined to comment.
