5815 replies to this topic

[spanky123]

The CoV placed these businesses into a licensed environment that turned out to not only be irrelevant, but against the law. So all of the leases signed, stores opened and employees hired for City-sanctioned “licensed” pot shops put those businesses into committed scenarios from which they would essentially be setup for failure unless they had extremely deep pockets with clean funding sources.

Very, very few of these operators can afford to maintain a lease and a premises while not being able to sell anything. So we have the disaster that we now have.

The City took on something outside of its jurisdiction under the guise that it was forward thinking. But it turned into one of the largest economic missteps in the City’s history which saw many stores close and (now) government raids. This is a worst case scenario for investors who believed the City was within its authority to do what it did, who believed police turning a blind eye would actually work, and who believed federal sanctioning would just prop up what they had already started. Nope. All wrong.

The question now is, will there be lawsuits?

 

Police are still turning a blind eye, that is why Provincial enforcement has had to step in. I said all along that all the police had to do was confiscate illegal product and the shops would close down - exactly what the Province is doing now. No need to lay charges.

 

The problem is that when the City encouraged the illegal shops to open they of course didn't care who was funding them. The fact that the shops were illegal to everyone outside of the Mayor and council meant that legitimate businesses, investors and banks wouldn't invest so the shops took whatever money they could. It should be no surprise then that now that the Province has put some meat behind the rules they are finding that few of the shops qualify.

[Mike K.]

At one point how many pot shops were there? 45 or so just in the CoV?

That’s 45 leases. 45 investments into storefronts. 45 monthly carrying costs for the premises. Debt servicing. Product purchases. Staff hiring and retention. Marketing. Business licensing+permitting applications (those don’t come cheap). Thousands upon thousands of City staff hours invested into the regularity regime. Countless meetings. Council’s time. The mayor’s time.

Trees alone has nearly 100 staff! All of those people are now out of work.

[Nparker]

 

The City took on something outside of its jurisdiction under the guise that it was forward thinking...

That's sort of the modus operandi of the CoV council is it not?

[Victoria Watcher]

At one point how many pot shops were there? 45 or so just in the CoV?

That’s 45 leases. 45 investments into storefronts. 45 monthly carrying costs for the premises. Debt servicing. Product purchases. Staff hiring and retention. Marketing. Business licensing+permitting applications (those don’t come cheap). Thousands upon thousands of City staff hours invested into the regularity regime. Countless meetings. Council’s time. The mayor’s time.

Trees alone has nearly 100 staff! All of those people are now out of work.

 

i think though all along the steps the businesses were warned that provincial jurisdiction could supersede anything the city was doing.

[Nparker]

Warned by whom? Did the CoV actively advise applicants of their so-called licensing system that it in no way guaranteed smooth sailing once federal and provincial regulations were in place? Regardless, the city should never have allowed businesses selling an illegal product to operate. It was just asking for trouble.

[Victoria Watcher]

Warned by whom? Did the CoV actively advise applicants of their so-called licensing system that it in no way guaranteed smooth sailing once federal and provincial regulations were in place? 

 

yes.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 August 2019 - 03:18 PM.

[On the Level]

The City took on something outside of its jurisdiction under the guise that it was forward thinking. 
 

 

The CoV council does not have experience beyond the educational base and municipal service they have learned.  When you look at their backgrounds and from the comments and questions during CoV meetings, I don't believe they are able to understand what it is that they are responsible for and what their mandate is.

 

For cannabis retail, I think they have started to understand they were over their heads.......especially when the province is investigating their involvement in establishing businesses involved with money laundering.  

[VIResident]

PUT the effing blame where it belongs. 

THE NDP & their buds.... the Greens - who should have directed, right at the get-go, the COV.

They did not.  Hands off they were, total hands off. 

 

The entire structure they built, the NDP & their buds the Greens, around cannabis sales & regulation is pathetic.

(Took something that had the opportunity to be world-class for consumers, purveyors and gov. coffers,

effed it up incredibly)

Edited by VIResident, 04 August 2019 - 04:37 AM.

[Matt R.]

Looks like the Compassion Container I posted earlier is gone. However, this recently opened between the vegan ice cream trailer and the Gulf Islands Organic weed store. This is also a sea can, but they did a nifty little conversion on it. They sell CBD products specifically, but some with high THC concentrations. Cute store!



Matt.

[Mike K.]

That looks really, really good!

[Matt R.]

Now that I think about it, I hope they have that deck engineered for commercial load and permitted by the CRD.

Matt.

[Sparky]

I see they have the Mike Harcourt hand railing.

[Nparker]

...They sell CBD products specifically, but some with high THC concentrations...

All purchased through proper legal channels I presume. 

[Matt R.]

They grow their own and make their own products. Shop smells great!

Matt.

[Nparker]

So if I understand BC Cannabis laws and regulations, selling their homegrown/homemade products directly to the public is illegal.
 

A person must not sell cannabis unless one or more of the following apply:

     (a) the person is the government;

     (b) the person is a federal producer and the federal producer sells the cannabis

          (i) to the government,

          (ii) to another federal producer, or

          (iii) in the prescribed circumstances to a person located outside British Columbia;

     (c )the person is a licensee whose licence authorizes the sale, and the cannabis was registered under the Cannabis Distribution Act and purchased by the licensee

          (i) from the government,

          (ii) in prescribed circumstances, or

          (iii) as authorized by the terms and conditions of the licence;

    (d) the person or cannabis is prescribed.

http://www.bclaws.ca...18029#section15

 

[Matt R.]

You care a disproportionate amount about this subject.

Matt.

[todd]

This happens sometimes people try to compensate to hide the truth.

[Victoria Watcher]

you think nparker is a heavy marijuana user?

like an Ian thow or an elliott spitzer?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 17 August 2019 - 03:05 PM.

[todd]

you think nparker is a heavy marijuana user?
like an Ian thow or an elliott spitzer?

Possibly some kind of kingpin

[Nparker]

You care a disproportionate amount about this subject....

I care about people playing fast and loose with the rules. If I operate in the same way as many illegal pot retailers in regards to the laws and regulations I disagree with, I would have my property seized and/or be imprisoned.