Victoria residents will be able to weigh in on how to best regulate the growing number of marijuana storefronts at an upcoming town-hall meeting.
City staff have been exploring potential regulations designed to reduce the community impact of medical-marijuana businesses, while maintaining access to medical marijuana.
The proposed regulations include an annual licence fee of $4,000 to $5,000, a ban on anyone younger than 19 being in the stores, and a requirement that health-warning signs be posted.
The number of marijuana-related businesses has exploded in the past 18 months from four to an estimated 30, including about 26 storefront marijuana retailers.
It’s something Mayor Lisa Helps would like to see reined in.
“I want to get moving on this,” Helps said. “These dispensaries are popping up. Many are operating without business licences, and it’s not fair for other businesses.”
Helps said she would like to see every marijuana dispensary — even those already in operation — required to go through a rezoning process.
“I think that would limit the number almost more than any other regulation,” she said, noting that a rezoning is a rigorous and expensive process that requires consultation with local land-use committees.
An open house is planned at city hall, Feb. 22 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., followed by a town-hall meeting.
An online survey is available at victoria.ca. The survey will be open until March 4.
Helps said she doesn’t want the public forum to turn into a free-for-all on marijuana.
“I think what we want to do is say: This is the direction we’re planning on going. Give us your input.”
The City of Vancouver recently gave the green light to 11 of the 176 dispensaries that have applied for licences there.
It created a two-tier licensing system that allows compassion clubs to pay a fee of $1,000, while for-profit pot shops must pay $30,000.
Victoria staff say they found no appreciable distinction among the businesses that would warrant creation of more than one business class, and that unlike in Vancouver, city licensing fees have to be based on cost recovery.
