One Of Vancouver’s 30-plus Marijuana Dispensaries

Article content In a city where there are as many medical marijuana dispensaries as McDonald’s, it took me very little time to get a marijuana licence.

Article content [np_storybar title=”Dozens of Vancouver dispensaries test limits of Canada’s pot laws” link=”http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/06/26/grey-area-leads-to-green-rush-dozens-of-vancouver-dispensaries-test-limits-of-canadas-pot-laws/”]

A National Post reporter's quest for medical pot licence to combat dry skin and trouble sleeping Back to video

A woman stands outside Vancouver’s Canna Clinic, offering passersby free in-house medical consultations. One of Vancouver’s 30-plus marijuana dispensaries, many of which have opened in only the last 12 months, Canna Clinic sells pot-infused ketchup, olive oil and brownies, as well as pre-rolled blunts and two dozen strains of pure B.C. Bud.

Article content “I’m just in a lot of pain, you know,” one man, who entered after being assured by staff that the certification process would only take 10 minutes, joked to the assembled patients as he lined up for registration forms.

According to Health Canada, the only legal way to get marijuana is to get a prescription from a doctor or nurse practitioner, and choose from one of 13 government-licensed producers for carefully regulated doses via Canada Post.

Article content But the rest of Canada is not Vancouver, where a legal grey area is ushering in an unprecedented boom in storefront medical marijuana dispensaries and there are now almost as many dispensaries as McDonalds.

Read more … [/np_storybar]

I called around to about six dispensaries - dozens have popped up in Vancouver over the last year, thanks to a bizarre legal grey area. My medical complaint: dry skin, and trouble sleeping more than six and a half hours a night.

Article content Some sounded skeptical of my condition, and asked if I had ever sought any other medical treatment (I haven’t really, aside from regular moisturizing). Several said they would need me to obtain a doctor’s prescription, while others referred me to outside naturopaths, where the cost of an appointment could range from $40 up to $100.

In the eyes of the Vancouver Police, all of these dispensaries are equally illegal. But, in a city wracked with much more pressing drug problems, the department has openly said they don’t usually bust dispensaries unless they absolutely have to. (According to Health Canada, the only legal way to get marijuana in Canada is to get a prescription from a doctor or nurse practitioner, choose from one of only 13 government-licensed producers and sign up to receive carefully regulated doses via Canada Post.)

Article content I soon settled on the Canna Clinic. As far as I could tell, Canna was the only location offering not only free diagnoses, but diagnoses on a daily basis.

During my own free medical consultation with Canna Clinic’s in-house naturopath, the doctor didn’t show interest about my sleep troubles, but did inquire about the dry skin, to which I showed him my cracked hands and evidence of light scarring on my back and legs.

The Canna Clinic doctor stopped short of outright recommending cannabis, but on my “Practitioner’s Statement” he checked a box reading “this patient has reported that her/his symptoms are helped by cannabis and therefore, on the basis of my knowledge, s/he should have access to it.”

I shook his hand, turned in the statement at the front counter, and was quickly issued with my ticket to medicinal marijuana: A Canna Clinic business card marked with my name and registration number. The whole process had taken about 30 minutes.