Langford Mayor Stew Young says he’s madder than hell that the municipality’s first and only pot shop reopened on the weekend.
“I am not going to turn a blind eye to something illegal,” said Young, reacting to news that Green Tree Medical Dispensary is up and running. The store, at 108-688 Granderson Rd., had been shut down by West Shore RCMP on Jan. 17, the day after it opened.
“It is still illegal and the police will do their job, but the federal government better get its act together, because I’m fed up with the top politicians in the country saying we’re going to legalize pot and it’s turned into a free-for-all in the meantime,” said Young, adding it’s up to West Shore RCMP to take action. “I will never go to a policeman and say: ‘Do not uphold the law.’ ”
A spokesman for West Shore RCMP said on Saturday that police were aware Green Tree, operating without a business licence, had reopened and they were investigating.
Employee Harley Thompson told the Times Colonist that RCMP officers arrived at the store on Saturday, but he locked the doors and asked if they had a warrant. The officers said they would be back with one, but as of Monday, no officers had returned.
On Jan. 17, West Shore RCMP seized marijuana from the shop but no charges have been laid. Thompson said employees working that day didn’t know to ask for a warrant.
West Shore RCMP said in a news release at the time that investigators conducted a compliance check before shutting down the store. The detachment said it’s illegal for medicinal marijuana dispensaries or compassion clubs to sell marijuana to the public, regardless of whether customers have medical licences to possess marijuana or the vendor has a licence to produce.
“Businesses and/or individuals operating in contravention of the CDSA and Health Canada regulations may be subject to investigation and criminal charges in accordance with Canadian laws,” said West Shore RCMP spokesman Const. Alex Bérubé.
Bérubé said officers observed evidence of possible offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Customers who previously had to drive to Victoria or Sooke to buy from a marijuana dispensary have told Thompson they’re happy the store has reopened. People who use marijuana to treat their illnesses “really need place like this to be open. They’re relying on it.”
Thompson said the store is prepared to pay the $200-a-day fine for operating without a business licence. “We’re paving a path for Langford,” he said.
That’s a path Young is trying to block. He has told a dozen applicants for marijuana storefronts that Langford will not consider granting business licences until federal legislation is in place.
“You can’t say this is an election promise and then just do nothing,” said Young, referring to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to eventually legalize and regulate non-medical cannabis use.
Since there still is no solid plan in place, it’s making life difficult for municipal politicians, bylaw enforcers and police, said Young. “With no regulations in place, they’re creating a big problem.”
He said it is absurd that, while Health Canada regulates production of medical marijuana for sale by mail, there are no regulations for stores.
“What knowledge [about medical marijuana] does some guy setting up a shop in Langford have?” he said. “Licensed producers are not supplying these pot shops. There are no licensing agreements yet.”
He said “the feds could solve this in one month” if pharmacies were permitted to sell medical marijuana from licensed producers approved by Health Canada.
“It should be distributed through a doctor or a pharmacy,” added Young, who said he has no trouble with the concept of decriminalizing marijuana. “We just don’t know where these guys are getting their marijuana. It could even be from organized crime, for all we know.”
Jonathan Henriksen, who operates the online Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Vancouver Island directory, said he learned through his Facebook page that the Langford dispensary had reopened. “I always thought Stew was more progressive than that. I guess he’s not,” Henriksen said of Young’s stance.
It didn’t surprise him that the dispensary, which has sister locations in Nanaimo and Duncan, was back in business. “That’s what they do,” he said. “Once they get busted, they reopen.”
