While the City of Vancouver is busy ticketing marijuana dispensaries, there are more liberating winds blowing in Victoria.
On Thursday (May 5), staff will present a report to Victoria council’s committee of the whole.
It doesn’t call for an outright ban on edible marijuana products, unlike the City of Vancouver’s dispensary bylaw.
‘The recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in R v. Smith confirmed that people with medical authorizations can possess and use cannabis derivatives, including edible products for medical purposes,’ the City of Victoria staff report states. ‘Health Canada has responded by allowing licensed producers to produce and sell canabis oil and fresh marijuana buds and leaves, in addition to dried marijuana.’
The report acknowledges that consumers might overestimate the required dosage in edibles containing marijuana or accidently consume these products. It also notes that Island Health’s chief medical health officer offered anecdotal information that hospitalizations have increased due to ‘accidental ingestion’ along with the rise in cannabis-related businesses.
‘A secondary concern associated with the sale of edible products is food safety,’ the report adds. ‘Food products that are not properly prepared, stored and handled may become contaminated or produce toxins or disease-causing microorganisms.’
However, the report states that the city has no authority over mandatory testing, labelling, and packaging. And a majority of those engaged in the city’s public process maintained that the health benefits making edibles available outweigh health and safety concerns.
‘For this reason, a restriction on the sale of edible products is not recommended,’ the staff report states.
The city’s position has been welcomed by lawyer Kirk Tousaw, who represented Owen Smith in the landmark case involving marijuana extracts and edibiles.
https://twitter.com/KirkTousaw/status/726212223497031680
The City of Victoria staff report also recommends that licensed marijuana businesses be 200 metres from one another and from independent or public schools. This is the same distance that liquor stores must follow to be licensed by the city.
In Vancouver, dispensaries must be 300 metres from schools. This was the justification for ordering the closure of some of these businesses, which is what led city officials to start handing out tickets this weekend.
