One week after council rejected a plea from a medical marijuana dispensary for a business licence, the Corporation of Delta has filled a petition with the B.C. Supreme Court to close the WeeMedical Dispensary Society store in North Delta.
The petition was filed Monday in Vancouver. WeeMedical has 21 days to respond.
WeeMedical opened its store at 9501 120 St. on April 19, but was told its application for a business licence was denied on May 11. Delta’s Property Use and Compliance staff noted the sale of medical marijuana is “contrary to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of Canada” and WeeMedical is “not licensed to produce or sell” the product.
WeeMedical appealed the decision to Delta council on May 30, when society director May Joan Liu argued Delta doesn’t have zoning bylaws for a medical marijuana dispensary “as it is a new and emerging industry requiring changes and adjustments to existing bylaws.”
Council upheld the staff decision to refuse a business licence by a unanimous vote, but after the decision, Liu insisted the North Delta store would remain open, despite the $1,000-a-day bylaw infraction fines levied by the Corporation. The petition claims WeeMedical has a total of $11,900 in outstanding fines.
WeeMedical currently operates with a business licence in Port Alberni. The society also has stores in Campbell River and Sechelt, where the two municipal governments are in the process of drafting local bylaws to regulate medical marijuana businesses.
But in Chilliwack, RCMP have raided a WeeMedical store on two occasions last month and the city has issued fines totaling $44,000.
