A letter to and from Port Coquitlam about marijuana

Letter to the Mayor and Council regarding marijuana dispensaries in Port Coquitlam:

Mayor Greg Moore
Councillor Laura Dupont Councillor Mike Forrest...
Councillor Darrell Penner
Councillor Glenn Pollock
Councillor Dean Washington
Councillor Brad West
​
re marijuana dispensaries in Port Coquitlam​

​Dear Mayor Moore and Council,

It's time for a stable marijuana dispensary in Port Coquitlam. It's ridiculous and dangerous that disabled people and seniors, often using walkers or riding scooters, have to put themselves at risk of being mugged to acquire potentially unsafe marijuana for medical use.

Whatever the obstacles or prejudices here in Port Coquitlam, it's time to move on. The BC Compassion Club in Vancouver is located adjacent to a residential neighbourhood with many school-aged children. It has operated at this location without significant incident for a decade or more. The point is, it's possible for a dispensary to be a good neighbour.

So, whatever the obstacles, the many disabled and elderly medical marijuana users in Port Coquitlam, myself included, would be mighty grateful if the City would revisit this issue from a health services perspective. Establish a workable policy framework, vet the vendor/s and allow us access to safe, affordable, traceable, marijuana from a dispensary located in a safe, transit accessible neighbourhood. (The current location of Cannabis Culture, for example, is about perfect, in terms of centrality, transit access and neighbourhood safety, at least it would be if they ever fix the bus stop.)

Marijuana is recommended by so many physicians for symptom control because is works. Certainly, my own marijuana use is physician directed. Marijuana makes it possible for me to be active in the community while reducing the amount of allopathic medication, with all it's side effects, that I need. Whatever the City's position on recreational use, blocking local access to safe marijuana for pain and symptom relief is just unkind.

Rhamona Vos-Browning

The Mayor's response:
Dear Mr. Vos-Browning,

Thank you for your email.

The federal government has sole authority to regulate the use of marihuana for medical purposes. The Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) spell out the procedures for obtaining medical marihuana and for supplying medical marihuana to qualified patients. Anyone who wants to express dissatisfaction with the current system for dispensing medical marihuana should contact the federal government through its regulatory agency Health Canada. The email address for this purpose is omc-bcm@hc-sc.gc.ca.

Municipalities do not have the lawful authority to regulate or license marihuana dispensaries, including those that claim to supply only patients who have qualified under the ACMPR. 

Thank you for taking the time to express your views on these matters.

Sincerely,

Greg

By all means, write the Mayor and Council to express your support for safe access to medical marijuana http://www.portcoquitlam.ca/City_Government/City_Council.htm