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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015
VOL. 27, NO. 55
250.390.1871
Pot dispensaries will defy order I NANAIMO’S MP questions timing of police action.
By TaMaRa CUNNINgHaM THE NEwS BULLETiN
CHRIS BUSH/THe NewS BUlleTIN
Amber Adams, Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation donor relations director, left, Nancy Scott, executive assistant and Feron Walker, communications director, don phoney facial hair to promote the foundation’s Brovember ’stache for cash fundraiser to purchase prostate health diagnostic equipment for the hospital.
Moustaches in style during Brovember campaign By CHRIS BUSH THE NEwS BULLETiN
Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation is once again finding itself in a somewhat hairy situation with Brovember, a local twist on the Movember men’s health movement. The foundation is inviting men in the central Island region to grow a ’stache for cash or pledge a bro to grow one and raise money for men’s health, specifically to help Nanaimo Regional General Hospital buy new cystoscope units to diagnose prostate cancer. “A cystocope checks out blad-
der issues and that sort of thing, but it also checks out your prostate to see if you have any prostate issues,” said Feron Walker, foundation spokeswoman. Brovember has raised $27,000 since it was started in 2010 and organizers hope to reach this year’s goal, set at $25,000. Each cystoscope costs about $17,000, but supplies and replacement parts are also needed for existing units. Men with local business groups and service clubs and medical professionals have followed their competitive instincts, joined the Brovember movement and ritually
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cast aside their razors to take a crack at winning the coveted Brovember Cup, not to show off their ability to grow monumental moustaches, but to display their prowess as premier pledge earners. “We like to keep the money local and all our money stays local,” Walker said. No moustache will be ignored. Prizes will be awarded for creativity and best attempt for those wispy wannabes. For more information or to register for Brovember, please visit www.nanaimohospitalfoundation. com. photos@nanaimobulletin.com
Nanaimo medical marijuana dispensaries will remain open, despite the threat of police enforcement. Medical marijuana dispensaries have reached out to government for clarity on potential new regulations and help in the lead-up to a deadline to stop selling marijuana. But dispensaries have no plans to close, according to the new Nanaimo Cannabis Coalition. “Our coalition has stated we will remain open … because people need their medicine,” said Matthew O’Donnell, coalition spokesman. Ten medical marijuana dispensaries were given notice last Thursday by the Nanaimo RCMP to stop selling marijuana and marijuana derivatives in seven days or they could face police enforcement, including the arrest of employees and patrons. No further questions are being answered by the Nanaimo RCMP, but in an earlier e-mail spokesman Const. Gary O’Brien said action is related to
an ongoing commitment to public safety and to notify dispensaries about the ramifications of noncompliance with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Health Canada only licenses six B.C. producers, including Tilray, to sell to registered, medically prescribed patients. Still, local pot retailers have been openly selling bud, tinctures and marijuana-infused edibles to Nanaimo customers, some for close to a year.
“
We will remain open, because people need their medicine.
On Monday, O’Donnell appealed to Nanaimo city council to stand with “thousands” of medical marijuana users and to ask the RCMP for a cooling-off period while the new Liberal government decides how it will legalize marijuana. The coalition will also lab test products to medicinal standards and welcomes regulation, he said. See ‘DISPENSARY’ /10
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