If a new federal party wins power in Ottawa and legalizes marijuana, Vancouver’s new regulations for pot shops will leave the city in “very good shape” and ease the concern police have with 100 illegal marijuana dispensaries operating in defiance of existing laws.
Deputy Chief Doug LePard made the statement in response to a question Thursday from Mayor Gregor Robertson at a Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»Police Board meeting. LePard’s comment came just before the police board voted to dismiss a complaint from an anti-pot crusader who accused the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»Police Department of not enforcing Canadian drug laws and shutting down dispensaries.
“If a new government came in and said we are going to fulfill our commitment to decriminalize and regulate marijuana – or legalize marijuana outright Â-- then we will simply adapt to that,” LePard told Robertson, who doubles as chairperson of the board. “In that case, I think the city will be really well positioned in terms of already having a regulatory scheme for what would then become a legal product, which would then cause us less concern.”
The Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been highly critical of Vancouver’s move to regulate pot shops and accused the VPD of not enforcing Canada’s drug laws. The Liberals and NDP have called for the decriminalization of marijuana.
“If Parliament decides that marijuana is going to be legal, and it’s going to be regulated in some way, for example, like liquor, well then we can easily adapt to that and I think the city will be in very good shape,” said LePard, who wrote a 15-page report outlining the VPD’s views on pot shops that went before the police board Thursday.
As , the report was in response to a complaint from Pamela McColl of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada, who accused the VPD of failing to shut down the city’s 100 illegal marijuana dispensaries and ignoring complaints from the public about the storefront businesses. McColl didn’t attend the meeting but later told the Courier by telephone that she was disappointed and accused the mayor of meddling in what is federal jurisdiction.
“He’s just playing politics and I think that it’s at the expense of the youth of this country,” said McColl, who is worried about the message young people receive when the City of Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»and VPD allow the pot shops to proliferate. “The police chief is playing the same political game and I think that they have completely underestimated the public health risk marijuana proposes.”
Though LePard acknowledged the dispensaries were illegal, he reiterated what has become a repetitive refrain from the department – that investigating pot shops is expensive, time consuming and complicated because of intersecting legal, social and political factors. He said the department’s priority is to take harder drugs off the streets such as heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, which was recently associated with several overdose deaths.That said, since 2013, police executed 11 search warrants at dispensaries, including one in August connected to the Hells Angels. The investigations resulted in 23 charges recommended against 11 suspects, with Crown, so far, approving 16 charges.
“The reality is that the multiple search warrants executed and charges recommended have generally not resulted in dispensaries shutting down,” LePard wrote in his report.
Robertson’s Vision Vancouver-led council voted in June to adopt new regulations for pot shops that will require all dispensaries to operate with a business licence. In August, the city received 176 applications from current and potential pot shop operators, who will have to abide by strict guidelines including not being within 300 metres of a school, have staff undergo criminal record checks and pay a $1,000 to $30,000 annual licence fee, depending on whether the shop is selling marijuana for recreational or medicinal use.
The city doesn’t plan to begin enforcing the new regulations until it does an initial review of how many dispensaries are either too close to each other or near a school. The city’s legal department has said the likely route to proceed with enforcement would be through the courts. The police's role will not change under the new regulations, with enforcement still have to be conducted with search warrants.
The mayor wouldn't speculate on how many of the 176 applications would be approved but said "I'm sure it'll be a much lower number than the number that have applied." The mayor's Vision colleague, Coun. Kerry Jang, told the Courier in a previous interview that he estimated fewer than 20 applicants would receive business licences.
The Globe and Mail reported last week that Health Canada sent out cease-and-desist letters to 13 pot shops across the country, warning operators the RCMP could shut them down if they don’t close their doors.LePard pointed out the RCMP would face the same problems the VPD has in investigating pot shops – that the use of the Criminal Code is essentially a poor mechanism for attempting to shut down a dispensary. LePard noted the VPD raided one shop three times, only to have it re-open each time.
Police Chief Adam Palmer told reporters he met with the RCMP and concluded from that discussion that “you’re not going to see the RCMP come marching in to Vancouver.”
Added Palmer: “Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»police will deal with Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»issues and the RCMP will deal with issues in their territory.”
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