VANCOUVER -- Senior health officials say a plan to license marijuana dispensaries — even though they are illegal — is a smart move.

"I think it fits in with the public health agenda in which we suggest that, on the evidence, the best way to address a psychoactive substance like cannabis is through regulation, controlled outlets, pricing and taxation," provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall said Friday in an interview.

The City of Vancouver announced this week it will charge marijuana shops $30,000 a year in fees if they meet proposed guidelines requiring them to be at least 300 metres from a school, community centre or similar outlet. They also won't be allowed to sell baked goods and candies containing cannabis because they may appeal to teenagers.

The city predicts the rules will close about 25 per cent of Vancouver's 80 dispensaries.

Dr. Patricia Daly, chief medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health, calls the plan "very sensible" because of its focus on children and teenagers.

"We're particularly concerned about use among youth whose brains are developing.

"How can we reduce the harms associated with marijuana use? The best way to do that is to apply a regulatory approach, which is exactly what the city is proposing," Daly said.

Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose disagrees. She told reporters at an unrelated event in Surrey on Friday that Vancouver must "re-think'' its plans and shut down the stores.

While marijuana outlets have sprouted across Canada, the rapid increase in Vancouver is without precedent, growing from six shops to 80 in two years.

"The issue for me is a public-health issue. First of all, marijuana dispensaries are illegal,'' Ambrose said. "Marijuana is not a medicine, it is not approved as a medicine by Health Canada, nor has it gone through any of the typical rigorous clinical trials that are necessary for medicine to be approved.''

Ambrose wouldn't say what her government is prepared to do if Vancouver goes ahead.

"I would leave that to the police. But I would also say to you that this resolution hasn't passed council yet. They're thinking about it, they have a problem on their hands. A lot of people want to make a lot of money.''

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said Friday the city will hold a public hearing as a common-sense approach to deal with marijuana facilities, noting there are 80 shops in the city.

"The proliferation exists because of the federal landscape," he said. "As a city we can't continue allowing these shops to be all over town.

"They're allowed to exist, but we can't let them operate in a vacuum. We want to be sure there are good solid guidelines here."

Both Daly and Kendall say the federal government has stumbled in its legislation on the issue. Banning the cultivation of pot by people with marijuana prescriptions in 2014 led to an explosion in the number of pot shops, which Vancouver police didn't deem dangerous enough to shut down. Ottawa had previously been forced by the courts to allow access to marijuana — usually for pain or nausea — for people with a doctor's prescription. Now marijuana activists say they can't always get the plant strains they need for their ailments and took the matter back to Federal Court in February.

"The federal government hasn't really provided a scheme whereby people who need access to medical marijuana can get it, which is why you have these dispensaries," Kendall said.

"It hasn't been a helpful regime. It's such a contrast to what's happened in Washington state where you've seen very tightly regulated access even to recreational marijuana. They're treating it much more like alcohol, which itself is a dangerous product."

Daly says Canada spends more than $1 billion a year enforcing a prohibition on recreational marijuana, yet it's still readily available, especially to youth.

"The federal health minister expressed concern about potential harm to the population," said Daly. "If that is their concern, the best way to reduce harms is to legalize marijuana, but strictly regulate it."

They suggest rules similar to those on alcohol and tobacco.

eellis@vancouversun.com

With files from The Canadian Press and Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun

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