[URBAN NOTE] "Toronto cannabis entrepreneurs vow to fight proposed fines"

[rfmcdonald]

The Globe and Mail's Craig Offman writes about the ongoing struggles of cannabis entrepreneurs and city regulators in Toronto. Clearly, clear laws and regulations of this new business are needed.

On Tuesday night, the Cannabis Friendly Business Association held an emergency meeeting at Toronto’s Hotbox Cafe. Entrepreneurs, consultants and lobbyists gathered to take on Mayor John Tory, who has vowed to fine unlicensed marijuana dispensaries as much as $50,000 a day. It was standing room only – and no one was taking the threat lying down.

All the tropes and trappings of the high life one might expect in the Kensington Market setting were in effect: berets, goatees, dreads, bongs and vapes, the air inexorably filled with suspicious wafts. But the fog wasn’t so thick that one couldn’t see that this energized group meant business.

There was little talk about the constitutional implications of the proposed clampdown. Instead, it was more about strategy. Amid the various speeches and calls to arms, there was an entreaty to lawyer up to challenge the legality of the fines, even though some of the vendors, such as Rick Vrecic, said they had already done so. “Even $25,000 a day would shut us down,” said Mr. Vrecic, who runs True Compassion Toronto, a west-side clinic that caters to those suffering from chronic pain.

Consultant Marko Ivancicevic called for attendees to inundate the city’s board of health with requests to speak at Thursday’s meeting, which will address a report from the city’s top doctor regarding the implications of legalizing cannabis. “We could filibuster it, so to speak,” he said.