LangleyAdvance
Legal triumph
Arriving in
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pg A15
Your community newspaper since 1931
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Friday, July 9, 2010
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Medical marijuana Randy Caine has submitted proposals for medical marijuana dispensaries to both the City and Township. Heather Colpitts/Langley Advance
Pot heads public talk
Langley City residents are invited to a public meeting to discuss legal marijuana. by Heather Colpitts hcolpitts@langleyadvance.com
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Medical marijuana
their questions and concerns addressed. “I’d really like the community to be part of the process,” he said. Health Canada hasn’t yet developed infrastructure to grow and distribute medical marijuana, so “compassion societies” and people like Caine by Heather Colpitts are filling the void. hcolpitts@langleyadvance.com Ideally, he said, the pot should be dispensed Langley needs a medical marijuana dispensary through a pharmacy. But first, he said, society needs to be more somewhere in the community, according to the accepting of the benefits of medical marijuana. local business owner who is licensed by Health “Medical marijuana is on its way here,” Caine Canada to provide medical pot. commented. Randy Caine submitted proposals for licensed His proposals included health, legal and hisdispensaries to Langley Township and City, torical information. He hasn’t heard back from three and two weeks ago, respectively. either local government. He said the need is there. Langley Township declined “We have a very large seniors “I’d really like to comment on the proposal or population here,” he said. where things stand there. He expects demand to continue to the community In Langley City, Mayor Peter rise as the population ages and more to be part of the Fassbender, who butted heads people struggle with chronic diseases with Caine when Hempyz first and other conditions. process.” opened, and who was adamantly For the past 18 months, Caine has Randy Caine opposed to the sale of its hemp made arrangements with each of his products, said the City is reviewapproximately three dozen clients to ing Caine’s submission. get them their pot – but none of that Ironically, he and Caine agree on the best way is done at his business, Hempyz, the gift and to distribute the pot to patients. novelty store on Fraser Highway. “This should be through licensed pharmacies,” He has Health Canada approval and must undergo criminal record screening annually, and Fassbender said. The mayor noted that municipal governments he keeps the store and its staff completely out of – and even the police – are not allowed to find the dispensing work, he explained. out who is licensed to use medical marijuana. Some municipal leaders have complained that Fassbender faults the federal government on they have little say about shops that are often how its program operates, because there is no run through legally constituted societies that consistency of supply or distribution, and that provide pot to licensed people. leaves the program open to abuse. Caine said he would like to take a different “I think it’s ridiculous that Health Canada route, to work with the local governments, to hasn’t put in place the regulations on this stuff,” create bylaws and regulation, so residents can the City mayor said. have a say in any local dispensary, and to have
People with questions about medical marijuana can seek answers at a community meeting on Friday evening, July 9 (tonight). Hempyz, a gift and novelty store on Fraser Highway, is sponsoring the meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Douglas Recreation Centre. Since 1999, Health Canada has administered the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations that allow people to use pot for certain medical conditions. Hempyz owner and meeting organizer Randy Caine is licensed to dispense medical marijuana to people who have Health Canada approval – a responsibility that involves going through annual legal screening. It was because so many people were coming into his shop, desperate for information about the medical marijuana program, that he has held similar meetings in the past – and it’s also why he’s become a licensed dispenser. He provides medicinal pot mostly to older people, although he deals with some younger recipients who have ailments such as MS or cerebral palsy. “Mostly it has a lot to do with pain management or nausea,” he said. He noted that one of the speakers on Friday evening, Simmi Dhillon, is a 37-year-old mother of two who, after sustaining a spinal injury that left her with radiating headaches, tried many prescription medicines. Dhillon, with a history in criminal justice and married to a police officer, was finally able to find some relief with medical marijuana. Caine said that’s what the information session is for – to provide people with answers they can use to make informed decisions. “You ought to be the one who makes that determination,” he said. Also on Friday evening’s speakers’ list are Bob Kay, founding member of BeKind, the Okanagan Growers and Compassion Club, and Rob Calloway, who has a masters degree in psychology and health. The venue can accommodate about 200 people. Caine said he hosted an information session there about 18 months ago which attracted about 60. This time, when he was distributing flyers to announcement the meeting, the community seemed much more open, he noted. He understands people in the community have widely differing opinions on the issue. “I respect that,” Caine said.