A retail marijuana shop that operated illegally for several months in the District of North Vancouver has closed its doors after being pursued in the courts by the municipality.
Medicinal Mary Jane Iprio Inc. opened a pot shop at 1488 Pemberton Ave. at the end of the summer.
The shop closed Dec. 18 after the municipality filed court documents Nov. 15 in B.C. Supreme Court asking for an order that the store stop selling marijuana and marijuana products, in contravention of local bylaws. The court documents also asked for an order authorizing police to arrest anyone who contravened a judge’s order in the case.
“MMJ’s lawyer advised the shop operators to close down after we filed the injunction petition in November,” said Mairi Welman, manager of communications for the district.
Marijuana retail shops are still illegal in Canada in the lead-up to legalization of recreational cannabis, expected to come into force by Canada Day this year.
While a number of marijuana storefronts still operate in the City of North Vancouver, neighbouring District of North Vancouver has taken a harder line with would-be pot shops.
MMJ is the second marijuana store that has closed after the municipality took legal action.
In May, the district forced the closure of the Green Tree Dispensary Society at 1370 Marine Dr. after a six-month legal process following complaints from neighbouring businesses.
In the latest case, bylaw officers visited the MMJ pot shop, identified on signs as a “boutique dispensary,” several times this fall, beginning in September, according to court documents.
Glass display cases inside the store contained dried marijuana leaf and bud, cannabis capsules, edibles including marijuana-infused olive oil and brownies packaged as being “Baked with Mary Jane,” as well as “Dope Soap” and THC-laced dog treats, according to affidavits.
Bylaw officers also spoke with Orient Holdings’ Henry Lum, who told them the storefront was leased to a computer repair company, which had sublet to the marijuana store, according to court documents. Bylaw officers told Lum he was responsible for activities on his property.
Six directors of MMJ company were named in the lawsuit, along with Orient Holdings Ltd., which owns the property where the marijuana retail shop operated. Legal documents also named the Medicinal Mary-Jane Canada Society and three people who are directors of the society, including Aaron Sinnathamby of Burnaby, who is also a director of Medicinal Mary Jane Iprio Inc.
Sinnathamby’s online profile lists him as the co-founder and chief operating officer of MMJ Canada, which also operates four pot shops in the City of Vancouver, as well as two in Toronto, three in Hamilton and one in Nelson.
Sinnathamby also appears on a list of guests who attended a federal Liberal fundraising dinner at Sheraton Wall Centre with Justin Trudeau on May 18 last year.
The federal government has set July 2018 as the date for legalizing recreational marijuana. But many of the details around that will be up to the province to regulate and have yet to be worked out.
