Marijuana will be legal in less than 10 months, yet in the meantime, pot shops are being stripped of their license to sell.

Several municipalities in the Okanagan are cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries by cancelling their business licenses.

In Vernon, existing business licenses were not renewed earlier this year, and now West Kelowna is pulling licenses.

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That鈥檚 left stores such as Black Crow Herbal Solutions wondering, 鈥渨hy now?鈥�

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 make any sense to me because I鈥檝e been operating now for three years,鈥� said Robert Jaenicke, a director of Black Crow, which has a shop in Vernon and West Kelowna.

But the fact that such stores are selling an illegal product, and now without a business license, doesn鈥檛 mean they will be closing their doors.

鈥淯nfortunately the municipality is not the one that governs the rules,鈥� explains Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund.

It鈥檚 the RCMP that would normally be responsible for these illegal businesses selling, what are still illegal, drugs.

鈥淚鈥檓 pretty sure they鈥檝e been told across the country to leave it alone,鈥� suggests Mund. 鈥淥therwise they鈥檇 be cracking down.鈥�

Since no one has come crashing into either of his Okanagan shops, Jaenicke figures the same.

鈥淭he RCMP has taken a hands-off approach,鈥� said Jaenicke, as the police aren鈥檛 getting much support from crown counsel. 鈥淚f people are operating responsibly it looks to me like they鈥檙e going to leave it alone. They鈥檙e not wasting time and money going after us when no harm is being done.鈥�

So when asked why bother revoking these business licenses now, Mayor Mund said it was because they initially applied as compassionate health and wellness clubs. And now that the city is aware of what is being sold, the licenses have not been renewed.

The same goes for West Kelowna, where Black Crow and the Healing Company asked council to defer its decision until the provincial government had announced its distribution plan for the legalization of marijuana.

The federal government has said it will be legalizing marijuana July 1, 2018.

But Mund points out that the provinces will have until July 1, 2019 to make their rules. And Ontario has plans to sell pot through the Liquor Control Board, which he suggests could be the case Canada-wide.

鈥淚 think what you鈥檒l see all across Canada will run the same,鈥� said Mund, who attended the cannabis seminar at UBCM where panellists said B.C. would probably follow Ontario鈥檚 lead. 鈥淚t has to be the same, otherwise it won鈥檛 work.鈥�

But what municipalities can do is set up some regulations, such as not having such pot shops within 500 metres of a school, or within each other pot shops, or certain areas of town.

And that鈥檚 exactly what Jaenicke suggests, as the influx of pot shops on almost every corner isn鈥檛 good for his business either.

鈥淭here were three or four of us in town who actually went through the process of talking to the city,鈥� said Jaenicke, who has been running the store in Vernon for three-and-a-half years now.

Now that there are at least half a dozen in town, Vernon, and other municipalities are getting anxious.

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鈥淚t鈥檚 just crazy,鈥� said Jaenicke of the growth in pot shop storefronts. 鈥淣ow the city is rightfully upset.鈥�

Meanwhile UBCO researchers are urging policy makers not to alter a cannabis distribution system that鈥攚hile not legal yet鈥攚orks well.

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Associate professor Zach Walsh, who teaches psychology at UBC鈥檚 Okanagan campus, and PhD candidate Rielle Capler, recently published a study on medicinal cannabis dispensaries and determined customers prefer the independent storefront as opposed to growing their own, or getting it from a dealer. Their research suggests that when recreational marijuana use becomes legal in 2018, the current system of dispensaries should remain.

Capler calls the current method a 鈥榥atural experiment鈥� that鈥檚 been underway for decades and says law makers should this keep in mind when addressing regulation policies.

鈥淒ispensaries are not new and they provide a proven, valuable service,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hile some are thought of as a nuisance, in reality many of these dispensaries are small, independent, long-standing businesses who serve a dedicated clientele.鈥�

Mund would not state his position on marijuana, but did say: 鈥淒o I believe it will have issues? Yes. Do I believe it will be the same incidence as alcohol? No. Alcohol causes a lot more death and a lot more issues than marijuana does.鈥�

jennifer@vernonmorningstar.com
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