Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
One of the operators of an Edmonton storefront cannabis dispensary says he has joined an industry legalization committee after charges laid in a police raid were dropped.
Aaron Bott, his brother Colin Bott and his mother and stepfather, Janice and Bob Cyre, were charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and production of a controlled substance when their non-profit "compassion club" was busted in July 2015.
The Mobile Access Compassionate Resources Organization Society, or MACROS, supplied cannabis products from a shop on 118 Avenue to more than 1,000 customers with Health Canada medical-marijuana licences or prescriptions from a doctor.
But in December the last of the charges against the four people were withdrawn by the prosecutor.
Instead, Hemperial Fidelis Ltd., which ran a hemp store in the building and leased space to MACROS, pleaded guilty to possession of more than three kilograms of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and was fined $6,500.
"It gave me my freedom back," former chair Aaron Bott said Friday, adding MACROS was Alberta's only storefront dispensary.
"I never looked at myself as a criminal ... I got into the cannabis industry to help people."
He thinks the Crown dropped the individuals' charges to avoid a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge that would have argued the medical pot system interferes with the ability of patients to obtain what they need.
Health Canada currently licences 38 cannabis producers, which must ship their products to customers, but Bott, 42, argues this isn't fair.
"Even though there's a legal source, not all Canadians can access that legal source. There's cost, and if you don't have a fixed address you can't get your medicine sent to you, because it has to move through the mail. (Also), you have to have a credit card."
As well, producers can't sell the concentrated cannabis oil some people want, Bott said.
A spokesperson for the federal drug prosecutors couldn't be reached for comment.
Bott is now part of committee representing dispensaries, clinics, licensed producers, consultants and other members of the cannabis industry aiming to advise the provincial government on how to handle recreational and medical sales once federal law is changed.
The group plans to hold several meetings and submit a report by April.
Bott also hopes to meet with Edmonton city officials to look at municipal permits for local dispensaries, which are allowed in some Canadian municipalities and shut down in others.
"I don't want to blindside them anymore. I want to work with them this time. I want to show them we did this for 12 years without any complaints."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Charges Dropped Against Edmonton Marijuana Dispensary Operators
Author: Gordon Kent
Contact: canada.com
Photo Credit: Ian Kucerak
Website: canada.com
Aaron Bott, his brother Colin Bott and his mother and stepfather, Janice and Bob Cyre, were charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and production of a controlled substance when their non-profit "compassion club" was busted in July 2015.
The Mobile Access Compassionate Resources Organization Society, or MACROS, supplied cannabis products from a shop on 118 Avenue to more than 1,000 customers with Health Canada medical-marijuana licences or prescriptions from a doctor.
But in December the last of the charges against the four people were withdrawn by the prosecutor.
Instead, Hemperial Fidelis Ltd., which ran a hemp store in the building and leased space to MACROS, pleaded guilty to possession of more than three kilograms of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and was fined $6,500.
"It gave me my freedom back," former chair Aaron Bott said Friday, adding MACROS was Alberta's only storefront dispensary.
"I never looked at myself as a criminal ... I got into the cannabis industry to help people."
He thinks the Crown dropped the individuals' charges to avoid a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge that would have argued the medical pot system interferes with the ability of patients to obtain what they need.
Health Canada currently licences 38 cannabis producers, which must ship their products to customers, but Bott, 42, argues this isn't fair.
"Even though there's a legal source, not all Canadians can access that legal source. There's cost, and if you don't have a fixed address you can't get your medicine sent to you, because it has to move through the mail. (Also), you have to have a credit card."
As well, producers can't sell the concentrated cannabis oil some people want, Bott said.
A spokesperson for the federal drug prosecutors couldn't be reached for comment.
Bott is now part of committee representing dispensaries, clinics, licensed producers, consultants and other members of the cannabis industry aiming to advise the provincial government on how to handle recreational and medical sales once federal law is changed.
The group plans to hold several meetings and submit a report by April.
Bott also hopes to meet with Edmonton city officials to look at municipal permits for local dispensaries, which are allowed in some Canadian municipalities and shut down in others.
"I don't want to blindside them anymore. I want to work with them this time. I want to show them we did this for 12 years without any complaints."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Charges Dropped Against Edmonton Marijuana Dispensary Operators
Author: Gordon Kent
Contact: canada.com
Photo Credit: Ian Kucerak
Website: canada.com
