dispensary

By Grant Granger - New Westminster News Leader

There was no outcry of ruining the neighbourhood when a representative of a medical marijuana dispensary made a case for setting up a "pot shop" on 12th Street in New Westminster to the West End Residents Association (WERA) last week.

WERA president Elmer Rudolph said Justin Cleveland of the West Coast Green Light Society made an impressive 15-minute powerpoint presentation and fielded questions for 20 minutes at an association gathering that included about 15 residents.

"It was either noncommittal, or I would say I would have the general feeling it was positive," said Rudolph of the reaction. "I didn't get any indication that anybody felt very strongly anti-dispensary." Read more »

BY JEREMY DEUTSCH, COQUITLAM NOW

The clock is now ticking on the life of the first and only medical pot dispensary in the Tri-Cities.

Following a marathon public hearing Monday night, Coquitlam city council voted unanimously to ban unlicensed marijuana dispensaries in the city and pass regulations on the location of federally licensed grow-ops.

However, council agreed to write a letter asking the federal government to establish the regulatory framework for the production and dispensing of medical marijuana.

Council was forced to grapple with the issue after the Coquitlam Natural Path Society, which runs a medical marijuana dispensary, opened up in the Maillardville area in June. Read more »

BY IAN MULGREW, VANCOUVER SUN

The federal government's plan to revamp Canada's medical marijuana pro-gram and address court-raised constitutional concerns seems half-baked.

The proposed changes ignore a recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling and do little to properly address some of the most contentious issues.

In particular, Ottawa intends to continue to permit only dried marijuana to be produced, sold and distributed to medical patients who will use a new document issued by doctors to buy pot from commercial producers.

That decision flies in the face of Justice Robert Johnson's ruling in April that patients could make cannabis-infused oils, drink it in their tea or bake it into brownies and cookies, not just smoke it. Read more »

By ELLIOT FERGUSON, THE WHIG-STANDARD

Organizers of Kingston's first medical marijuana dispensary say the club will re-open.

In a statement last week, the Kingston Compassion Club Society announced plans to re-open Aug. 22, more than two months after closing.

On June 19, Kingston police responded to a report of a break-in at the club's office in the Medical Arts Building on Princess Street.

The incident was reported after club workers noticed an online security video feed from the office had been interrupted.

When police arrived, officers determined none of the three club workers present at the time was legally permitted to possess marijuana for medical reasons. Read more »

By Scott Stanfield - Comox Valley Record

Dolly Smith lives with pain.

The Cumberland resident, who suffers from a number of afflictions, finds she hurts herself fairly frequently because she is "clumsy."

Smith has been on disability since 1998. She suffered a brain injury, for which doctors prescribed anti-depressants, but she took the medication for only a few days.

Then she heard about the North Island Compassion Club, a Courtenay establishment that sells medicinal marijuana and other medications such as cannabis-infused oil to help people who live with cancer and other debilitating ailments. It also acts as a support service, offering clients guidance and companionship. Read more »

BY JANAYA FULLER-EVANS, BURNABY NOW

Burnaby's medical marijuana dispensary is still signing up members after being raided by the Burnaby RCMP last week.

Burnaby's first medical marijuana dispensary opened on April 15 at 4927 Kingsway.

"The doors are still open," said Dana Larsen, a director with the Metrotown Medicinal Society, on Wednesday. "We're still doing what we can to help people."

However, the society is unable to provide patients with medical marijuana as part of the bail conditions set after three people were arrested in the raid last Thursday, he said.

"We're hoping to provide medicine in the future," Larsen added. Read more »

BY ROXANNE HOOPER, LANGLEY ADVANCE

Armed with a search warrant, police raided Langley’s Medical Marijuana Dispensary of all its cash and drugs Tuesday.

The downtown Langley facility is operated by Randy Caine, owner of two Hempyz novelty stores. He is licensed by Health Canada to provide medical pot, and back on April 1 moved the dispensary services out the back room of his original Fraser Highway store into a secure office space a few blocks away.

All the stock – including the marijuana in various forms – were seized, along with the day’s cash. But member files were left untouched and intact, said manager Carol Gwilt. Read more »

Beyond Prohibition Foundation

Three days after North Island Compassion Club director Ernie Yacub wrote a letter to the editor critical of increased police spending in the face of historically low crime rates, and nearly 5 months after a previous raid which has yet to result in charges, Comox Valley RCMP have again raided the facility. Read more »

By Tom Sandborn, The Tyee

Vancouver’s trendy Yaletown neighborhood saw its first dispensary for medical marijuana opened on July 14, as medical cannabis advocates claim that Health Canada is implementing “drastic plans” to restrict access across Canada. The new facility, Yaletown Medical, located at #153-1020 Mainland Street, invited media and the general public in for tours on July 14.

“Dispensaries like Yaletown Medical serve a vital need for both patients and doctors in our community,” medical marijuana activist and dispensary spokesman Jacob Hunter told the Tyee. “Especially in the downtown core, many patients do not have access to a vehicle and their illness precludes long commutes. Read more »

By Stephen Thomson, Georgia Straight

The District of North Vancouver is pushing ahead with a controversial plan to prohibit medical marijuana from being dispensed in the municipality.

On June 21, council voted unanimously to support a proposed bylaw that would effectively ban any pot dispensary from operating in the district without federal approval.

The move came after the ReLeaf Dispensary Society recently attempted to open a location to distribute medical cannabis in the Deep Cove area.

The district has argued the existence of such a dispensary will negatively affect the surrounding neighbourhood. Read more »