More and more compassion clubs and marijuana dispensaries are appearing in Kelowna but the businesses are illegal so how come the police and city are not shutting them down?
A quick search online for marijuana dispensaries in Kelowna will lead you to five listed shops in the city, including one set to open next month. Former Olympian Ross Rebagliati will be opening a location downtown on Bernard Avenue as he expands his Ross’ Gold marijuana dispensary business.
A brand new Starbuds location just opened on Pandosy Street in downtown Kelowna, boasting "some of the best products" for every need. A second location is also open in East Kelowna along Highway 33 and elsewhere in the Okanagan.
Then there is TLC Herbal Meds on Dolphin Avenue, a dispensary which prides itself on providing top quality medical marijuana herbs, extracts and edibles. The Kelowna Compassion Society, known as Weeds Kelowna has been around for a number of years and was one of the first pot businesses to open up shop in the city.
But these businesses are running illegally as only authorized licensed producers are allowed to sell marijuana in Canada. There are currently eight producers allowed to either cultivate or sell, or do both in British Columbia, and none of the Kelowna shops are on that list.
The Kelowna dispensaries are open in anticipation of the upcoming changes to federal laws, but no one is regulating or enforcing the law when it comes to these businesses. As of Aug. 24, 2016, the new Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) came into effect, but that does not mean dispensaries can open for business as they please. The ACMPR is designed to provide an immediate solution to a recent court judgement which found that requiring individuals to get marijuana only from a licensed producer violated their rights.
Health Canada is working to evaluate how a system of medical access to cannabis should function and the rules and regulations have yet to be worked out. The ACMPR contains several parts including a framework for commercial production by licensed producers to responsibly produce and distribute fresh or dried marijuana or cannabis oils or starting materials. This would be done in accordance to secure and sanitary conditions.
Under the newly introduced regulations, individuals who wish to produce a limited amount of marijuana for their own medical use can do so or designate someone to produce it for them. Health Canada is currently accepting and reviewing applications from producers to ensure they are in compliance with regulations.
But how are these dispensaries currently in business without the proper licensing from the federal government? What is stopping other businesses from conducting themselves in the same way? A restaurant, nightclub, and liquor stores all need special permitting and licensing to operate various aspects of their business. Why are marijuana dispensaries so special that they can open up shop and not follow the rules?
When KelownaNow asked the local RCMP about enforcement and dispensary operations within the city, the standard answer was given.
“The RCMP is committed to ensuring that local businesses are abiding by these Federal and Provincial Statutes and Laws. We will continue to investigate any businesses believed to be not complying with these laws. The owners and or employees of these business' could face potential charges of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). Charges will be recommended in consultation with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada,” said RCMP in a statement.
But no real answer was stated as to why these businesses are not being shut down. If a restaurant has a safety violation or their staff are not trained and certified they would be shut down or issued a warning immediately. It would be done by a different governing body, such as bylaw services, but it would be enforced nonetheless.
“There are no legal mechanisms available in the country today, which allow for a self-described ‘Medical Marijuana Dispensary’ or a ‘Compassion Club’ to sell marijuana to the public, regardless of whether or not the purchasing individual(s) have licenses to possess Marihuana or whether or not the vendor has a license to produce marijuana,” added Kelowna RCMP.
The Kelowna RCMP stated that they don't typically discuss enforcement strategies, but their overall response is based on the prioritization of policing issues. This includes a variety of factors including complaints from the public and public safety issues.
KelownaNow also reached out to the City of Kelowna to find out if these dispensaries were issued business licenses and if so, how is that possible when they don’t have the proper federal permitting.
According to City Clerk Stephen Fleming, the City of Kelowna has not issued any business licenses for any medical marijuana dispensaries. Which means there are at least five businesses in the city operating illegally and knowingly to both the city and police.
"Storefront dispensaries are not lawful at this point; should the federal government permit storefront dispensaries, the City would then adopt appropriate land use and business licencing regulations to ensure public health and safety," said Fleming. "Unlike some other B.C. municipalities, the City is wary of allowing such land uses in advance of knowing if or how the federal government will permit or regulate them."
At a recent city council meeting, the impacts of the legalization of marijuana were discussed from a local government and community perspective. The city is recommending that a proposed regulatory framework would give council control of distribution outlets and provide applications direction as to the location of dispensaries.
Fleming reiterated the fact that the city is still determining how best to deal with dispensary operations popping up in the community; which could include fines for operating without a business license or seeking injunctions to cease operations.
For now, it looks like the city and the police are not concerned with these illegal operations. In cities such as Vernon and Vancouver, police have cracked down on these marijuana dispensaries recently, but it's anyone's guess if anything will happen in Kelowna, or if we will see more and more illegal operations popping up all over town.
