Debate over regulating medicinal marijuana at City Hall tonight

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – How do you feel about the proliferation of pot dispensaries in Vancouver? The often heated debate over regulating medical marijuana will be front and centre at City Hall this evening. As of a few days ago, more than 60 people had already signed up to speak at the public hearing.

Marijuana activist Dana Larsen will be there and he says regulation in Vancouver would be a big step forward for dispensaries and for Canada. However, he’s hoping to have a few things in the proposal altered.

“The one big thing is they want to limit us from being 300 metres away from schools and community centres and other dispensaries, and you know, liquor stores only have 150 metre limit.”

Larsen argues keeping it at 300 metres would mean many of the dispensaries operating now having to close and trying to move.

“We’d rather see maybe limits on signage or on how you can promote yourselves if they’re worried about minors being exposed to images of pot leaves or something like that, but I think it’s going a bit far to limit us that severely and probably [would] mean two-thirds of the dispensaries [would] have to shut down in some way.”

Larsen says regulation will bring dispensaries into the mainstream, and he welcomes oversight.

“What I do think is exciting is that this is going to be a template for many other cities across Canada — Richmond has already started talking about this, Victoria is going to be going in a similar direction, and hopefully we can get it right here in Vancouver, and provide a really good model for other cities that also want to go in this way.”

A group that is opposed to regulation is boycotting the hearing, arguing federal laws would be broken and would like the provincial government to intervene.

“Municipalities are not allowed to break their own by-laws, and Suzanne Anton, the attorney general for this province, should be stepping in, we believe, and if they go ahead and do this, she could step in and take over the government of Vancouver,” says Pamela McColl with Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada.

Public safety is her number one concern. She argues the products in the dispensaries aren’t tested for bacteria, fungus, or mold and regulation would be breaking federal law.

“The fact that it’s not being tested and being suggested for people who are immune suppressed such as HIV, puts the sick at the greatest risk of serious damage from infection from bacteria, so the very people who these dispensaries are promoting and pushing drugs on are the ones that are going to be the most hurt so I think this is an issue for public safety, I don’t see how any city councillor could possibly vote this in given that fact.”

McColl says her group has been submitting letters to the city instead, saying that is a better way of speaking out than tonight’s hearing, which she predicts will be a “circus.”

“We need one or two of those Vision councillors to cave.  We need one of them to find a conscience and understand what they’re doing and the damage that this is posing to Canadian youth.”

City Council won’t likely be voting tonight.

The hearing gets underway at 6 p.m.