Medical Cannabis Store Fights Possible Closure

May 14, 2019 | 5:31 PM

A medical cannabis store in Vernon is planning to raise a stink with City Hall.

Herb’s Healing Centre in the Alpine Centre was visited by Bylaws staff today, and was issued a $1,000 fine and ordered to close, for being open illegally (without a provincial license).

Owner Russ Stevenson says he won’t close unless he’s arrested by police, which could be as early as next week, when he expects to get three days notice.

Stevenson says a court case underway in Vancouver is fighting for an injunction to allow medical stores to stay open as they are now, until the case gets through the Supreme Court of Canada.

He’s asking his 2,800 clients to phone Vernon’s mayor to explain how important the store is to their health.

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“We’re doing a campaign where we’re sending out the mayor’s phone number to every member and supporter of Herb’s — we’re going on Facebook and putting out the mayor’s number as well — and we’ll just let everybody phone him and tell him their situation, and how they are only surviving because of the medicine they are getting here,” he tells Beach Radio News.

Stevenson says even cancer patients at Hospice House, who he supplies products to for free, are going to lose access to their medicine.

Stevenson has kept his store open since legalization seven months ago, but says Bylaws only found out he was staying open after a local TV news report last week.

“We’re going to rev this up really big right now, and try to shut down City Hall for the rest of the week at least. I think they’ll think twice about it.”

by Corey Fischer