An online petition is calling on the province to rethink its cannabis legislation.
The petition is looking to “save medical dispensaries,” and asks the province to explore offering limited licensing for the stores to create a free market system, instead of selling off Cannabis NB to a private retailer.
Organizer Raven Blue says the licensing model is currently used in both B.C. and Ontario.
“We just want the government to take a second look at what their policies are, and look at what the other provinces are doing, consult with the public and with business owners before making such an aggressive move,” he said.
Blue says the sale of the Crown corporation would create an unwanted monopoly on cannabis in the province, and limit accessibility.
“I think there’s lots of benefits to having a co-existence between a publicly run and privately run, but it doesn’t need to be a monopoly. I think its much better for the public when there’s options that are more accessible and have specific medical knowledge,” he said.
“It’s a no-brainer, we need to really take a look at this. There’s an opportunity there to collect extra tax revenue, there’s an opportunity to consult with the public and understand the service and make sure it’s complimenting the existing Cannabis NB stores that are in place now.”
Blue says at the very least, the province should explore the option of licensing before making a final decision.
“If another 10 years from now we want to license dispensaries, it’s going to be a lot more legal and bureaucratic work,” he said.
Blue says he decided to organize the petition after hearing the struggles of the owners of King Canna, a cannabis dispensary on Germain Street.
The shop now only operates online via a delivery service and has also stopped selling products containing THC, in accordance to a letter sent to them from the Saint John Police.
He says dispensary owners he has spoken to are “very supportive” of the petition, which currently has over 500 signatures.
He says forcing medical dispensaries to close down is going to be a burden on New Brunswickers.
“It’s going to be enormously expensive for taxpayers in terms of the cancellations of the leases. There’s lots of improvements to be made, but there’s also lots of benefits to keeping them and there’s also many jobs at stake as well,” he said.
Blue suggests the province only consider medical dispensaries, not recreational, and have limited licensing available.
“It’s not rocket science. This is a model that’s been done in other provinces, it’s been done in the States. It’s completely unnecessary to try to replace everything wholesale with a model that involves a monopoly,” he said.
It’s unknown right now if the petition has made its way to Fredericton, or if government is aware of it. Multiple attempts to reach the province for comment went unanswered.
A number of dispensaries were also contacted for comment, but none replied.
