5,000 bucks.
That’s how much a business license will cost to run a pot shop in Nelson, if the new dispensary bylaw being touted by city council goes ahead. And the council is looking to appoint a license inspector who will keep them in line.
“Different communities handle this situation in different ways. In Vancouver and Squamish they’ve decided that rather than wait for the federal government to come forward with its laws, they would put in force regulatory bylaws under their business bylaw,” Mayor Deb Kozak told the Star.
And they’re following in those communities’ footsteps, endeavouring to find best practices. The proposed bylaw details how you can lose your licence: being convicted of an offence involving dishonesty anywhere in Canada, being convicted of a business offence, or contravening the bylaw once it’s in place.
If the inspector suspends a licence, the business will have 30 days to appeal. According to Kozak, though, they have no intention to close any of the existing six locations, even if they can’t or don’t meet the standards.
“If we had an intention to have fewer dispensaries, I think that would’ve happened already,” said Kozak.
“I just think we need some clarity for our businesses, not just the dispensaries but all of our businesses.”
A copy of the proposed bylaw is attached below.
The new bylaw will also require businesses to meet a number of requirements, including ensuring nobody under the age of 19 can enter and forbidding people to smoke, vape or consume cannabis while on the premises.
They will also be forbidden from using sandwich boards.
According to the bylaw, the dispensaries will have to up their game if the bylaw is introduced, as they will be required to install surveillance cameras, ensure they have up-to-date fire alarm systems and install and maintain air filtration systems that will minimize “odour impacts on neighbouring properties”.
“What we heard from the cannabis dispensary owners is they want clarity too,” said Kozak, adding that she feels the measures are “common sense”.
Each dispensary will have to display signage demonstrating their compliance with these regulations, ensure that two employees are working at all times, and not use the premises for anything other than the sale of their cannabis-related products.
Dispensaries will have to be closed between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Then there’s the fines. If anyone in Nelson contravenes the bylaw, they could be found guilty of an offence with a fine up to $10,000 and imprisonment for a term “not exceeding six months”.
“And to be really clear: once the federal government comes down with its regulations, this bylaw will definitely be pulled back,” said Kozak.
So how does the industry feel about all this?
“We’re not in a panic,” cannabis advocate Kaleigh Herald told the Star.
“People are actually enthused the city is finally choosing to regulate us versus creating or amending bylaws to further exclude us. This is a step in the right direction, which is wonderful.”
But she thinks it’s “over-excessive” and noted that all six of the current dispensaries currently violate the bylaw somehow.
Phil McMillan of the Nelson Cannabis Compassion Club, which has more than 1000 members and has been operating since 1999, was more blunt: “Why are we being punished?”
“I’d like to go into the credit union and find out how much they pay for their business licence. Who else is paying $5000 a year? I’ve worked for the last 17 years to help these people gets cannabis as cheaply as I can, and this is just going to make it more expensive.”
According to the bylaw, the purpose of these measures “is to provide for the regulation of medical cannabis-related businesses to minimize any adverse effects that operation of such businesses may have on the safety, health and well-being of the community in anticipation of changes to the federal laws regarding distribution of cannabis”.
But McMillan has privacy concerns.
“Putting my patients on camera and having wide open windows? That is not good. I have a legal obligation under confidentiality laws to protect my members,” he said.
“I prefer the last bylaw to this one. If anything, they made it worse. What a waste of time.”
To write the new bylaw, the city based its decision-making on Vancouver, Victoria and Squamish. The cities are charging $30,000 while Squamish and Nelson charge $5,000.
“It’s not fair to compare Nelson to cities like Victoria and Vancouver,” said Herald.
“We have smaller municipalities in B.C. that are far more successful — Grand Forks, Rossland, Kimberley, who have all gone ahead with granting business licences and have had zero issues, because they haven’t gone too far.”
The city is looking for feedback on the bylaw until 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Comments can be emailed to jcaldecott@nelson.ca. Council will further debate the bylaw before voting on Feb. 6.
“I think people are feeling more relaxed,” said Kozak.
“We’re looking for a starting place, so that we can figure out how do these businesses fit? And how do they become a part of the larger community?”