Vancouver to weed out illegal marijuana dispensaries
All eyes on the city as council makes ‘historic’ move toward regulation of at least 100 ‘medical marijuana’ shops
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Vancouver changed the landscape of Canada’s cannabis culture, becoming the first city in Canada to regulate illegal marijuana dispensaries. The action, which will see a two-tiered licensing system aimed at weeding out for-profit dispensaries in favour of non-profit compassion clubs, comes as the federal government continues to reject calls to loosen its drug policies. Dispensary owners have 60 days to apply for a licence and will have to qualify under tight criteria, including criminal records checks and limits on where their shops can be located. (See also: Grey area leads to green rush)