Correction: This story originally referred to 2411 Vape & Cannabis Accessories as being the storefront of Coastal Cannapy Inc. They are in fact two separate businesses. The reference has been removed. Global News regrets the error.
The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) is going to Nova Scotia’s Supreme Court in an attempt to shut down a cannabis dispensary.
In a press release, the HRM said on Wednesday that it’s seeking a court order to shut Coastal Cannapy Inc., as it is a business operating without a permit.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia announces three more NSLC outlets that will sell cannabis
The city says that it does not issue permits to businesses for the sale of illegal products such as cannabis
Coastal Cannapy Inc.’s dispensary operates out of a storefront at 2411 Agricola Street.
The company and the store’s landlord, a numbered company known as 3065468 Nova Scotia Limited, pleaded guilty in Nova Scotia Provincial Court on Dec. 1, 2017 to operating a business without a permit.
The city says that despite being ordered to shut down, the operation has remained open in violation of a provincial court order and the municipality’s land-use-by-law.
“This is the first case we’ve taken to the Supreme Court that is involving operating without a development permit as it relates to the sale of marijuana through store fronts,” said Brendan Elliott, a spokesperson for the HRM.
“Store front selling is illegal. It’s not changing when the federal government makes marijuana legal”
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Representative’s of Coastal Cannapy Inc., declined to comment on camera but have posted a response on their Facebook page.
“We are not going anywhere without a long hard fight, so lets start by flooding their twitter feed and letting them know how we feel about their decision,” the company wrote.
“Let your government know; we do not support their model and will not be going to any liquor stores for cannabis, and we will fight for what is right.”
The provincial government says the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation will be the only company permitted to sell and dispense cannabis.
Debbie Stultz-Giffin, a member of Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana Society, says that this isn’t the right solution.
““The only access that patients have to be able to purchase medicine is through licensed producers and by and large, many patients find that to be unsatisfactory because they have to make minimum orders and then wait for a period of time to wait for their order to come through,” she said in a phone interview on Wednesday.
Stultz-Giffin said a dispensary makes it easy to get marijuana and that it’s a waste of taxpayer’s dollars to attempt to shut down a business that is helping people.
“There’s already existing infrastructure, there are already people who have been immersed in the industry if you will for many, many years and it just behooves me as to why it can’t all fit together and even include licensed producers,” she said.
Halifax says that a hearing date in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has not been set and the municipality will to assess by-law violations and seek legal action on a case-by-case basis.
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