Canada: British Columbia anticipates the legalization of cannabis

The city of Victoria, British Columbia, has designated zones where cannabis dispensaries will be allowed to operate. Those that are authorized to open will be able to operate without fear of being shut down. According to the city of Victoria, the cannabis dispensaries are legitimate small businesses.

Clinics wishing to set up operations there must apply, specifying the area in which they will operate, and pay a licensing fee of 50,001 TP4T.

Victoria has just taken a big step forward. Right now, all entrepreneurs are in the starting blocks for the future legalizing cannabis in Canada which is expected to arrive sometime in 2017.

In fact, some cities are concerned about the the proliferation of illegal clinics, which, under the guise of selling only medical cannabis, also dispense recreational cannabis without a prescription. Depending on one’s perspective, this can be seen either as an effort to get a head start on the business before the law takes effect—knowing that it is coming soon—or as an illegal operation. In any case, these «preemptive moves» are being monitored and tracked by the police who regularly raid clinics.

«The City of Victoria's new municipal regulations are among the most progressive in the country; they allow dispensaries, edibles, »mailings and deliveries," says Lisa Campbell, founder of the Green Market Toronto, a popular cannabis event that takes place several times a month and showcases the work of local cannabis artisans.

Vancouver, which has also regulated the opening of recreational dispensaries, and Victoria, on the other hand, do not allow cannabis consumption at the point of sale, as do the Amsterdam coffeeshops. Abi Roach, one of the cornerstones of Toronto’s cannabis scene, believes that once cannabis becomes more widely available, people will need a place to consume it other than their own homes.

«If you look at Colorado or Washington State, they launched their legal platforms without designated smoking areas and are now having to go back and make changes because they realize that people need a place to smoke.».

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps points out that the reason for this new law is that «the government is slow to make decisions, and in the meantime, we couldn’t just sit around waiting.».

Helps and her team consulted with residents and dispensary owners to ask about their needs, which led to the new regulations. She acknowledges that the regulations are not perfect and that some people are calling for the opening of cannabis cafes, which, in her view, is not directly within her purview but is a public health issue to be addressed by the government.

Here, Victoria offers a new perspective on what it means to have both the political courage to take action and the rational approach of listening to fellow citizens in order to solve their problems.