Oh hey there!

Seems like most canadians stand in a large grey area when it comes to the development of commercial distribution of medical marijuana between citizens and their government. Recently, Jodie Emery of Cannabis Culture, had there Toronto location raided by the Toronto Police. That really sucks, you know.

Here's the kicker! They opened shop the next day with replenished stock like it was a fresh business. Watch below for Jodie's statement:

Similar shops like marijuana dispensary chain WEEDS Glass and Gifts in Toronto have also been raided by the Toronto Police.

Here's a list of raided shops in Toronto.

On the west cost of Canada, after a federal court decision against Health Canada dated back in 2014 over producing and access to medical marijuana, Vancouver BC and surrounding cities boomed with business with an uptick of 96 dispensaries in operation and applications for a business license of over 176. The province alone has increased in storefronts, making it one of the largest grey area markets in the drug industry. The city of Vancouver created regulations for dispensaries, requiring to pay up-words of 30k in fees and be 300 meters away from any schools and community centers. After this was signed into law on June 24 2016, Vancouver Police have been issuing orders to dispensary owners who stay open without a business license will be forced to shut down. Some quit and closed there doors, others like BC Pain Society are battling to this very day.

Watch BC Pain Society owner Chuck Varabioff commenting on the appeal:

Now even though shops are forcefully being asked to close, this is still the largest area of the underground market happening right here. Why can't the rest of Canada be as cool as Vancouver? Here is the underline problem. Local, provincial and federal governments are completely confused on how to "regulate" a problem that doesn't need to be fixed. Those who are caught with marijuana without the confirmation of government for the use of medical purposes can be charged and even sent to prison. Explaining further, decriminalization wasn't on the agenda for the Liberals when regulation is highlighted as a medium form of prohibition.

Majority of canadians in my understanding, recently voted in Justin Trudeau for his platform of decriminalization of the class 2 scheduled drug. No one asked the liberals to regulate marijuana [but we all know it's a cash grab for the kindness of decriminalization, wink wink]. Its kind of ironic in this next clip where Justin suggested that legislation will prohibit the age group of anyone who is under 26 while "protecting our kids".

Skip ahead to 1:17 for the english version

That's a large percentage of people being discriminated against when those accredited like Simon Frazer University have reported marijuana to be treated as a medical aliment for a variety of illnesses. SFU even gives classes on how to grow and manage your weed.

Now this next bit takes an interesting turn. Health Canada stopped giving producer licenses for patients back in the same lawsuit in 2014. Even tho those issued a license prior to 2014 haven't been revoked, that hasn't stopped Health Canada from completely revamping a new system for industrial growers to distribute to all those who are legalized once a piece of legislation is in place, although the strict guidelines and high standards in order to receive such licensing make it frustrating for those already growing.

Health Canada has also repeatedly said that dispensaries and compassion clubs that hand out marijuana are considered illegal operations and the only place to purchase medical marijuana is through one of the 34 licensed suppliers in Canada who serve some 70,000 clients.

Those who grow and sell to dispensaries are in the biggest portion of this grey area where the responsibility lies on the dispensary to accredit all there clients with a notarized proof of there medical issue. In order to legally sell marijuana under the Constitution in Canada, they can only sell to those who use it for medical purposes. This also falls on the producer to make sure they are doing the same. Since a dispensary is an entity, not a patient, this can cause issues for shop owners as police look at this as a loophole to shut down stores across Canada.

This is the conclusion. We have a nation with a large majority that use cannibis for many purposes beyond medical that face being put in prison. You may or may not be arrested in posession of weed depending on who your dealing with. Even those medically carded by a dispensary stand in threat of being locked up. This is a large market to throw money at to make it rain but the truth comes down to the understanding of what marijuana is. If major accredited bureaus can publish studies for medical purposes with a 0 rate count provided by FED officials globally of people dieing directly of the cause of cannibis, why are we still in debate of this being a "dangerous" substance ruled by DEA officials in United States and other simular parties involved? It all comes down to money and control in taxation. Plain and simple. The industry works fine without threat of government.

Check out this VICE video on the canadian industry of marijuana:

Now I've included a poll for STEEMIT users:

Which would be better for cannabis clients? Click your choice below!

Decriminalization

Legalization + Regulation

Both

Click Here for results if you didn't vote

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ABOUT AUTHOR:

My name is AJ DeSwart. I'm canadian and a new writer on Steemit; also an entrepreneur in fintech development and management of a few leading companies. My topics generally focus on new forming industries and markets.

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