The City of Vancouver has listed two new dispensaries on their website, bringing the total number of storefronts to move on to the second stage of the process to 14.
After announcing last week that officials expected the first licenses to be officially issued by city hall this spring, the two new locations join a growing group of operations that can still be denied their license based on factors like feedback from neighbours and police.
Since the last update on Jan. 6, the list has added locations at 3615 West 17 Ave and 511 West 7 Ave, both of which are subject to approval from Vancouver’s director of planning.
The 7 Ave location application comes from Apple Health Society, operating an Eden Medicinal. This is the second Eden Medicinal to move to the second stage of the licensing process after Scooter Health Society’s proposed 3441 Kingsway location. The Kingsway location has met with opposition from a local church, petitioning city hall to reject the development.
At 17 Ave, Apollo Medical Society has promised, in their operational letter to the city, that “there is a bad stigma around these stores” and they “will be attracting a higher end clientele.”
Apollo’s letter claimed they “are the first and only retail medical cannabis provider that does analytical testing on the products.”
The operational letter said the business will surpass all standards currently in place and is currently in the process of developing a new certification for dispensaries they said is similar to the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA).
“The NAPRA has standards for all pharmacy locations and the Pharmacy technicians,” the letter read. “We feel this should be the same for all retail medical cannabis locations and technicians as well.”
Apollo representatives said they want to model their stores after retail pharmacies, describing them as “very clean and secure.”
“We want to legitimize the retail medical cannabis sales in Canada,” the letter read.
With the new operations, the updated list is below.
- 1357 East 41st Avenue — Stressed and Depressed Association
- 1404 East 57th Avenue — The Green Room Society
- 2181 West 4th Avenue — The Buddha Barn
- 511 West 7th Avenue — Apple Health Society (Eden Medicinal)
- 4545 West 10th Avenue — Wealthshop Social Society
- 3615 West 17 Ave — Apollo Medical Society
- 2894 East Broadway — BC Pain Society
- 1501 Commercial Drive — EVO Medi Society
- 1308 Kingsway — MPN Health Society
- 2768 Kingsway — Medicinal Express
- 3441 Kingsway — Scooter Health Society (Eden Medicinal)
- 1189 Main Street — The Herb Co.
- 6416 Main Street — The Healing Centre
- 1605 Renfrew Street — Urban Earth Med Society