The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/777081
20 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 7 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m anada's pending legalization of marijuana might lead merchants and users to see green, but when it comes to dispensaries, it all looks somewhat grey for many lawyers. As the country anticipates the legitimization of the potent weed and the rollout of related regulation and restrictions, stores have been popping up across the county. Some appear as clubs, others as dispensaries and others simply offer cannabis straight up or in an edible product. The complication is that this network of shops has been operating in a legal haze and they continue to sprout in store- fronts as merchants try to get ahead of legalization to tap into what is expected to be a lucrative marketplace. An October report by Deloitte projects the Canadian marijuana market to be worth $4.9 billion to $8.7 billion annually. But until next spring, when the Liberal government hopes to see recreational marijuana become legal, and likely after that as the provinces and municipalities determine their approach, the retailers and landlords could find themselves in a quagmire, observes Andrew Fortis, a partner at Toronto's Hummingbird Lawyers LLP, where he practises real estate and corporate and commercial law. "We don't know what the law is going to be like," he says. "Right now, the law is very grey." Reaction to the stores by municipalities across the coun- try has ranged from ambivalence to enforcement, while several British Columbia communities have simply accepted the growing number of pot shops, imposing their own sets of rules to control marijuana distribution and exposure to it. Much of the attention of the communities that are not willing to put up with the for-now illicit shops has focused on the lease between the landlord and the retailer. In some cases, police forces have pressured landlords. Toronto has been aggressive, issuing written warnings to 78 property owners and raiding several dispensaries, charg- ing dozens of store owners, clerks and landlords. In the fall, city officials in Ottawa issued warnings to landlords of build- ings that house dispensaries, threatening criminal and other charges. That was followed by raids at seven dispensaries and the arrest of nine people. R E A L E S TAT E BLAIR KELLY Setting up shop Marijuana dispensaries are a legal landmine for landlords as pot laws are in a state of flux By Marg. Bruineman C