Two Vancouver lawyers who specialize in marijuana have warned that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. may have put itself at risk of litigation when on May 5 it revised how doctors should counsel patients on medicinal cannabis.

In separate interviews, Kirk Tousaw and John Conroy told the Straight a memo sent to B.C. doctors could result in a court challenge that argues the new rules violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

As cannabis regulations shift across North America, a few commercial cannabis producers are building facilities that balance technological advancements with environmental stewardship.

Medical cannabis has traditionally been cultivated under a veil, in bunkers and basements. To provide the light necessary for photosynthesis and plant growth in this scenario, artificial lights are used.

But now, with the introduction of federal cultivation licenses in Canada, companies can now optimize for both the plant and the environment. Bunker grows are being replaced by structures that allow for strict environmental control while allowing the penetration of natural sunlight ­ into modern, high-­tech greenhouses.

We just don’t know enough about it.

That from the organization representing 12,000 doctors in this province when it comes to prescribing medical marijuana.

Doctors of BC President, Dr. Bill Cavers, says while he welcomes tighter restrictions, doctors shouldn’t have been forced to become the gate-keepers of the drug in the first place.

“I think the policy should have been in place first, and I think that Health Canada, unilaterally and without consultation, brought in some rules which we are now wearing.”

He says evidence-based research is lacking.

It's not easy living above a clash of ideologies.

But that's where residents of Maxine Clough's Vancouver condo building find themselves: stuck between Ottawa's virulent opposition to marijuana and cannabis activists bent on legalization.

Meanwhile, the very real pot dispensary on their ground floor is open for business.

"We're in the middle," says Clough, who supports calls to regulate Vancouver's rapidly multiplying dispensaries.

"We're stuck here, and the city seems to be trying to do something. And we've got the feds saying: 'Don't you dare!'"

'Marijuana is not a medicine'

Lower Mainland municipalities want the support of other Canadian jurisdictions as they push for a national debate on the regulation of marijuana dispensaries.

The B.C. communities are submitting a resolution for discussion at next month’s Federation of Canadian Municipalities convention. The document, a copy of which was obtained by The Globe and Mail, says local governments have the authority to regulate marijuana dispensaries.

The RCMP’s raid of a local marijuana dispensary sparked a sizable protest outside City Hall on Monday.

Dana Larsen, one of B.C.’s top marijuana legalization advocates, was among 40 people objecting to the Jan. 15 raid on the Kaya dispensary on Lawrence Avenue.

Barely illegal: Canada’s vice laws have undergone radical change in the last few years — but it hasn’t necessarily affected how Canadians, and the police, behave. In a two-part package, National Post looks at enforcement (or the lack thereof) around marijuana and prostitution and what it means for the future. 

VANCOUVER — If several thousand people gathered in Downtown Vancouver for a mass light-up of cigarettes, it would be assailed by condemnations from the city’s chief medical health officer. If they came to chug moonshine, the gathering would be stopped in its tracks by riot police.

VICTORIA – Victoria has become the latest British Columbia city to draft new bylaws for medical marijuana dispensaries, as Vancouver considers a plan to regulate illegal pot shops.

City council in the province’s capital voted Thursday to ask staff to draft business licensing and zoning regulations, which could impose fees and new rules on security, record keeping and selling to minors.

Mayor Lisa Helps said she thought it was a “good sign” when Victoria Police Insp. Scott McGregor told council at the meeting that the department doesn’t object to regulation.

Yesterday (May 7), Victoria city council received a report from staff that recommended a crackdown on the provincial capital’s growing number of medicinal marijuana dispensaries.

In a vote of seven to one, councillors opted to reject that suggestion. Instead, they requested staff draft new business and zoning bylaws that would regulate the over-the-counter sales of marijuana.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 6, 2015: Wildflower Marijuana Inc. (CSE: SUN) (FWB:RSP) (the “Company”) has signed a Letter of Intent to license the most advanced technology for the delivery of oil based derivatives in the disposable vaporizer industry. The purpose of the Licensing Agreement is to pair the highest grade cannabis extract with the most advanced technology in disposable vaporizing to meet the growing demand of health conscious cannabis consumers. Wildflower will have exclusive rights to this technology in Washington State giving the Company a clear advantage over other similar products. Cannabis vaporizing continues to gain momentum with consumers and currently demand in Washington State exceeds supply.