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Bylaw officers set to crack down on marijuana dispensaries 

torontosun.com
May 15, 2016
By Maryam Shah

The grass soon won’t look so green for Toronto’s pot dispensaries.

With at least 78 marijuana dispensaries operating in the city, bylaw officers will be hitting them with hefty fines for zoning bylaw violations by the end of the month, according to municipal officials.

“In this case, because these types of activities and uses are not permitted, then yes, that would be the end goal, that these places are shut down,” said Mark Sraga, Toronto’s director of licensing and standards.

But Sraga said he would be surprised to see anyone shutter their storefront dispensaries just yet.

“There may be a couple of business owners that realize that the ramifications of continuing on are not worth the penalties they may face, so there may be a few,” he said. “But I just don’t see the majority of them (shutting down) based upon the blatant disregard for the rules as it is now.”

Maximum fines for violating zoning bylaws are $50,000 for a corporation or $25,000 for individuals. Penalties are ultimately determined by the courts.

Despite the city’s concerns, it’s open season for dispensaries.

Walk out of Chester subway station and stroll along Danforth Ave. and you’ll find three marijuana-related businesses within spitting distance of each other. Two of them are storefronts.

Sraga insists there is no grey area.

“Our zoning bylaw just does not allow for them,” he said.

Existing laws only allow licensed medical marijuana producers to work out of industrial areas and ship their product to clients. The federal government has not spelled out details yet of its plan to legalize marijuana.

“The legalization of marijuana, in general, for recreational use, maybe it’s a completely different set of rules,” Sraga said. “I don’t know, and I can’t anticipate that.”

But the owner of one of the Danforth-Chester Aves. dispensary storefronts, said he’ll deal with fines when they come.

“It is what it is,” said Michael, who didn’t want his last name used. “When it happens, then we’ll just have to deal with it and take it from there.”

Michael opened up Weeds, Glass and Gifts last fall. His store sells medicinal marijuana to people over the age of 19 with a prescription “of some sort,” he said.

They’ve helped people with a range of illnesses, from cancer to anxiety, he added.

“Every person that comes in here has a medical ailment and we require that,” Michael said.

The neighbouring marijuana-related businesses did not respond to a request for interviews.

Even Michael came close to not talking, saying he’s tired of sounding like a “broken record,” repeating his story to reporter after reporter.

“We employ lots of people - you’re looking at jobs, you’re looking at storefronts that will be empty,” he stressed.

Toronto Police, meanwhile, will investigate when the force receives a complaint or when there’s a public safety issues, spokesman Mark Pugash said.

“Our drug squad concentrates on trafficking significant amounts of drugs,” he said. “Keep in mind that we have to make decisions every day about the best use of our officers.”

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE ARE DISPENSARIES:

While these dispensaries are acting as weed pharmacies, they’re doing so illegally, according to Health Canada, Toronto Police and the City of Toronto.

VANCOUVER'S DISPENSARY RULES:

Toronto is not the first Canadian city that has had to deal with the issues of marijuana dispensaries.

Officials in Vancouver, where the number of medical pot dispensaries doubled from 2013-15, recently outlined a plan to address the surge of weed businesses.

Dispensaries are permitted but only allowed to operate under certain conditions.

They have to be in commercial zones, located at least 300 metres away from places like schools, community centres, facilities for vulnerable young people, and other medical marijuana-related businesses.

They are also required to hold a business licence: For compassion clubs, the city charges a mere $1,000; for marijuana-related “retail dealers,” the fee is a hefty $30,000.

Pot businesses also require a development permit. The process to obtain such permits can require dispensary operators to notify the community surrounding the proposed businesses about their plans.

Vancouver bylaw inspectors issued fines so far this month to 44 dispensaries operating without a licence.