THE REAL MR. BIG
PART 2 OF 3
A TRAGIC ACCIDENT Peter Beckett’s version of the events of Aug. 18, 2010 STORY/A6
KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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JULY 2, 2015 | Volume 28 No. 79
No spark yet in Kamloops from Vancouver medical-pot regs ANDREA KLASSEN • STAFF REPORTER • ANDREA@KAMLOOPSTHISWEEK.COM
The City of Vancouver Vanco is blazing a trail with new regulations on the sale of medical medica marijuana from storefronts, but it hasn’t yet sparked a similar conversation in the Tournament Capital. regulations, approved last week by council Vancouver’s regul after four nights of public hearings, will restrict where stores p selling medical marij marijuana are allowed to locate and charge pot retailers $30,000 for a business licence. Non-profit compassion clubs that offer other patient services are charged a much lower $1,000 fee. storefront shops in Vancouver has been on The number of st the th rise, and hovers aaround 100 as the new rules go into place. But, noted when contacted by KTW, B Bu ut, t, Coun. Coun. Ken Christian C businesses are rarely seen in Kamloops. similar b bu usi sinesses ar doesn’t seem to be as big an issue for us as it “Right now, it doe is in the City of Vanc Vancouver,” he said. famous dispensary was a Tranquille Road The city’s most fa Carl Anderson. The Canadian Safe Cannabis storefront run by Car by the RCMP in 2011 and its storefront was hit Society was raided b with a no-occupancy order shortly after. planning and development manager Randy Kamloops planni Lambright said the ccity isn’t aware of any other dispensaries time, though it has been approached for licencoperating at this tim es in the past. city doesn’t issue business licences to dispenAt present, the cit saries, Lambright sai said, since they are still illegal in the eyes of the federal government — which has spoken out against Vancouver’s regulation plans. Canada’s medical marijuana rules, those using Under Health Can purchase it from a licensed commercial producer, the drug must purch the product to the user. who will then mail th “We can’t issue a business licence simply because one of our referral partners, the RCMP, can’t sign off on that business-license
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CANNABIS CULTURE IN KAMLOOPS Kamloops has at least two medicalmarijuana-related businesses in operation. The Kamloops Dispensary is at 11-711 Victoria St. Its website states it was founded and registered in 2015, with its goal “to provide high-quality medicinal cannabis products to legitimate patients with a valid medical need.” The ReaLeaf Wellness Centre opened in February at 360-546 St. Paul St. and aims to connect patients with medical-marijuana producers across the country.
application,” Lambright said. Coun. Denis Walsh believes the lack of active businesses in the city might make it the right time for council to start thinking about the issue, possibly at a workshop rather than with binding motions at a regular meeting. Walsh said such stores might need to be subject to rules similar to those used to keep pawn shops and adult video stores from moving into a neighbourhood en mass. It’s a conversation Walsh was already looking to have — but in regards to cheque-cashing businesses, which he said seem to be proliferating on the North Shore. “We should get prepared for it,” he said. Coun. Tina Lange expects the city will play host to marijuanaproduction facilities — which are already regulated through zoning in Kamloops — but believes many residents would prefer to go through the more discreet, and legal, online ordering process the federal government prefers. But, Lange added, she could see the city looking at how dispensaries fit into its zoning structure “if someone came forward with a good business case and could say there was a demand.”
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