A Langley medicinal marijuana advocate is worried he may not be able to travel abroad safely after he was abruptly ejected from Mexico.

Randy Caine worries that local controversy and opposition to his medical marijuana activism in Langley led to his being labelled a drug dealer by Mexican federal police.

Caine and his wife, Maureen, were on a trip to Puerto Vallarta in March of last year. When they landed, Caine was taken aside by Mexican federal police to an interrogation room, and asked about criminal activities, and if he had ever been arrested.

"They said I had been identified as a drug trafficker and a security threat," Caine said.

Caine was put on the same plane to return to Canada. Maureen had to arrange another flight to follow him.

Vancouver's board of variance has denied the first four appeals from marijuana dispensaries hoping to reverse the city's refusal to grant them a business licence.

In June 2015 Vancouver city council voted to regulate and license medical marijuana retailers, making it the first city in Canada to do so. But by late October, only six per cent of those who applied were successful. 

Most of the shops had their licences denied because they were too close to schools, community centres, or other marijuana dispensaries.

"I'm hoping not everyone is putting their eggs in one basket, hoping the board of appeals will grant them their application," said Vancouver chief licensing inspector Andrea Toma.

Vancouver marijuana shops not offered business licences will appeal the city's decision in front of the board of variance beginning Wednesday.

In June 2015 Vancouver city council voted to regulate and license medical marijuana retailers, making it the first city in Canada to do so. But by late October, only six per cent of those who applied were successful. 

Chuck Varabioff is the owner of the B.C. Pain Society on Commercial Drive, which had its licence application denied last year.

He says he's appealing because his society has many members, is close to SkyTrain, and has low prices.

This weekend, neurologist Ethan Russo with non-profit organization Pain BC, took to Reddit for an online question and answer session on medical cannabis.

The interview offered those the chance to ask Russo, also author of Handbook of Psychotropic Herbs and co-editor of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Potential, questions about medical cannabis and its use in pain management.

Vancouver's annual April 20 cannabis celebration is a peaceful, progressive event that embodies the city's ideals of tolerance and diversity. Vancouver citizens and city hall should embrace 420 and join in the celebration.

The City of Victoria has come up with about a dozen restrictions it wants to place on the pot shops that now proliferate the capital.

The storefront businesses are still technically illegal, but Victoria is looking to follow Vancouver's lead to license and regulate the operations.

"In my opinion, the number of dispensaries popping up with no regulation is completely unacceptable," said Mayor Lisa Helps. "I think we need to take some steps to remedy that."

There are roughly 30 medical marijuana businesses operating in the capital, many of which have popped up within the past year. 

The proposed restrictions include a number of health and safety measures:

The city has already refused 135 other applications because they didn’t meet zoning requirements and were either too close to schools, community centres or public gathering places

Vancouver expects to legalize by the end of February the first 14 of at least 20 marijuana-related businesses now operating within city limits.

On Monday, the city said it had whittled down 176 applications for the country’s first legal retail marijuana stores to 14 that will now go before the Development Permit Board for approval. Another six stores could be drawn from 19 applications that are deemed to be clustered too close to each other.

The Non-Partisan Association has taken another run at the city's handling of marijuana applications.

Coun. Melissa De Genova has presented a notice of motion calling for "an immediate moratorium on allDevelopment Permit Reviews and processes for Medical Marijuana-Related Uses".

The motion also calls upon council to "direct staff to proceed with the enforcement of closure orders for all existing medical marijuana-related retail businesses in the City of Vancouver".

Cannabix Hand-held THC Marijuana Breathalyzer is being developed to give law enforcement and employers the ability to test for recent consumption of the THC component of marijuana.

Vancouver, British Columbia (PRWEB) February 01, 2016

Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Alta Vista Ventures Ltd. (‘Alta Vista’ or the ‘Company’) (AVV-CSE, YRLLF-OTC) has signed an engagement letter with Jacob Capital Management Inc. (‘JCMI’) for the purposes of completing the acquisition of RedeCan Pharm and expanding its operations. Redecan Pharm is one of Canada’s 20 MMPR (Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations) cultivation and sales licenses (see news release dated November 27, 2015).