New laws or not, pot shop enforcement not a priority: Vancouver cops to feds | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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New laws or not, pot shop enforcement not a priority: Vancouver cops to feds

Varieties of marijuana are listed on a board that are available at The Dispensary in Vancouver, B.C. Thursday, March 6, 2014. The Vancouver police have sent a message to the federal government about its new medicinal marijuana laws saying that they are more concerned with violent drug traffickers and will take a mostly hands off approach to the many medical pot shops in the city.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

VANCOUVER - Vancouver police have sent a message to the federal government about its new medicinal marijuana laws — they don't consider enforcement a priority now, and they won't when the new rules come into effect next month.

The department has taken a mostly hands-off approach to the many medical pot shops in the West Coast city.

Instead, police say violent drug traffickers and gang members who pose a danger to the community are their priority — criteria the medical marijuana dispensaries don't fit.

Police Chief Jim Chu says Vancouver is not a wide open city for the marijuana trade but police suggested they do not take action unless there is a threat to public safety.

Police say the dispensaries are illegal under the current laws and they'll be illegal under the revised laws as of April 1.

Under the old rules, a person with a marijuana prescription could grow their own pot, designate another grower or buy it from Health Canada, but as of April 1, they will have to buy from an approved grower.

News from © iNFOnews, 2014
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