When recreational cannabis is officially allowed on store shelves this October 17, West Vancouver residents are going to have to travel to a neighboring municipality if they want to purchase the plant legally.
Last night (July 16), city councillors unanimously voted to keep cannabis storefronts and production facilities from setting up shop in the affluent suburb.
The bylaw is straightforward enough. ‘Cannabis Production and Cannabis Sales are prohibited in every zone,’ it reads.
Canada’s federal government voted to legalize recreational cannabis last month. The legislation that MPs passed leaves most regularity details up to the provinces and territories. And, in B.C., MLAs decided that municipal politicians will be allowed to ban cannabis businesses from their individual towns and cities.
In addition to West Vancouver, other Lower Mainland cities that have decided to banish the devil’s weed include Richmond, Delta, and Maple Ridge.
According to CBC News, Jim Bailey, West Vancouver’s director of planning, maintained that the district’s cannabis ban is not a cannabis ban.
‘In a way, it’s prohibition light,’ he maintained. ‘Staff don’t believe it’s contradictory. By not allowing them outright…it gives you an added level of control.’
