Vancouver pot shop regulations under fire in letter from minister Rona Ambrose

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The City of Vancouver's plan to regulate retail marijuana stores has raised the ire of Ottawa.

In a letter to Mayor Gregor Robertson, federal health minister, Rona Ambrose, says she is "deeply concerned" at the city's plan to discuss a proposal to regulate the growing crop of pot shops.

The letter, sent Thursday, says that "legitimizing and normalizing the use and sale of marijuana can have only one effect: increasing marijuana use and addiction."

The federal regulations surrounding access to medical marijuana when prescribed by a physician are clear, the letter states, "and do not provide municipalities with the authority to legitimize the commercial sale of marijuana, which remains an illegal substance."

"Storefronts and dispensaries do not operate within a 'grey zone', and the law is clear: they are illegal."

Vancouver councillor Kerry Jang says Ambrose is missing the point.

"You know she raises the issue...

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URL: 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-pot-shop-regulations-under-fire-in-letter-from-minister-rona-ambrose-1.3046610