B.C. Supreme Court shuts down first unlicensed pot shop in Victoria

VICTORIA – A British Columbia court has granted Victoria an injunction to shut down a marijuana dispensary, marking the first court-ordered closure of a pot shop in the city.

Victoria was the second city in Canada to regulate cannabis stores in 2016, requiring shops to obtain business licences and follow strict location rules after Vancouver introduced regulations the previous year.

Both cities have struggled with stores that refused to close down after they were denied a business licence.

Victoria says in a news release that last week’s decision by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Hinkson was the first of its kind in the city.

Hinkson ruled in favour of Victoria’s decision to decline a rezoning application for the Green Dragon Medicinal Society and approved the city’s request for an injunction, meaning the dispensary is required to shut its doors.

The city denied Green Dragon the rezoning because it was within 200 metres of a school, which is a violation of the municipal regulations.

A post on the dispensary’s Facebook page on Saturday said it was “closed for good.”

Vancouver has filed for injunctions against 53 unlicensed marijuana dispensaries, but a test case will not be heard until September, more than two years since some of the court documents were filed.