Photo: CTV News
The City of Vancouver has started to apply pressure to illegal pot shops operating in the city, as cannabis activists decry the system as “a new prohibition.”
Cannabis Culture has announced it will be closing all three of its dispensaries in Vancouver, reports CTV News.
The company has been at the forefront of the pot legalization push for decades and is owned by Jodie and Marc Emery.
“The city is threatening jail time, significant fines and very serious punishments for those who don’t comply,” Jodie told CTV Vancouver, explaining the city has set an end-of-the-month deadline.
She said the closures will put 50 people out of work.
“Cannabis Culture will be spending the next three weeks campaigning for a saving grace—and we hope our supporters and community will take part in rallying peacefully to get political support for keeping dispensaries open, to offer a safer alternative to opioids, alcohol and other drugs,” she wrote on social media.
The company and other illegal pot shops have blasted Vancouver’s licensing requirements, especially rules barring pot shops from operating within 300 metres of each other.
The city has, however, already approved 56 pot shops with room for dozens more.
with files from CTV Vancouver
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