Tory postpones marijuana dispensary debate, crackdown to continue
Posted May 19, 2016 12:19 pm.
Last Updated May 20, 2016 9:05 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Vancouver may have issued its first business license to a medical marijuana dispensary, but it won’t happen in the city of Toronto for at least another month.
At Thursday’s licensing and standards committee meeting, a motion to debate licensing weed dispensaries in Toronto was deferred until the June 27 meeting.
Mayor John Tory tabled the motion, asking that Executive Director Tracey Cook conduct a “review of the current operations of marijuana dispensaries” and provide recommendations on how they can be licensed by the June 27 meeting.
Earlier this week, Toronto police began hand-delivering notices to existing dispensaries threatening to “take action” on the illegal businesses. Cook says landlords of dispensaries will have three days to shut down their operations once they’ve received a letter.
“In the letter we have said they have three days to remedy the issue, and subsequent enforcement action may follow,” Cook said. “Certainly we’ll work with the property owners, but we’ve been pretty clear it needs to be done and it needs to be done quickly.”
This follows comments by Tory expressing concern over the explosion of dispensaries appearing across the city that is “verging on being out of control.”
Related stories:
Toronto take note: Vancouver licences first retail marijuana dispensary
Toronto weed dispensary closes doors ahead of looming crackdown
Tory urges crackdown on weed dispensaries while city studies licensing options
“Left unaddressed, the number of these dispensaries will only increase,” the motion states.
There are an estimated 100 dispensaries in Toronto, with more scheduled to open in the coming months.
In Vancouver, police recently cracked down on illegal dispensaries, issuing fines to those that are not complying with city regulations. On Wednesday, the city granted a business license to the Wealth Shop Society to operate under guidelines the city established a year ago.
Tory’s motion asks that recommendations include details about how far dispensaries should be located from schools and daycare facilities.
Earlier in the meeting, a debate about amending noise bylaws was deferred until September.
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