Time is ticking for the majority of Vancouver’s medical marijuana dispensaries, but some owners say they’re battening down the hatches for a battle with City Hall.

Vancouver has set a deadline of April 29 for unlicensed pot shops to close, and a whopping 162 of the 176 that applied for a business licence failed.

Coun. Kerry Jang said any that refuse city orders to shut down will face escalating enforcement action.

“Enforcement can range from anything from letters and orders all the way through to fines that can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars,” Jang said.

“And we have no problem with obtaining court injunctions to close them forcibly.”

Some dispensary operators told CTV News they intend to comply with the deadline, but others said they’re digging in their heels for a fight.

Dana Larsen, owner of the Medical Cannabis Dispensary, said he supports the idea of regulating marijuana shops, but the city’s rule barring them from operating within 300 metres of schools and community centres is unfair.

The majority of unsuccessful licensing applications failed because of that requirement.

“The city’s going to have a very hard time shutting down 100 locations that’ve been operating illegally so far. We’re not afraid to go to the wall to fight for our right to serve the patients that need this medicine,” Larsen said.

“We’ll do everything we can both legally – going for a judicial review and fighting in court – as well as engaging in civil disobedience.”

Sixty-two failed licensing applicants have appealed the city’s decision with the Board of Variance. So far, 13 cases have been heard, and just one business has been granted an exemption to continue selling pot past the deadline.

Jang said Vancouver had to do something to manage all the dispensaries that were popping up, which reportedly came to outnumber Starbucks locations.

He also promised the city won’t be interfering with the ability of patients to access pot for medical reasons.

But Jodie Emery of Cannabis Culture said Vancouver’s hardline stance on dispensaries is “absolutely unjustified and appalling.”

“Dispensaries are protected by the courts and they’re all operating with peaceful civil disobedience, breaking an unjust law to demonstrate that there’s no harm being caused,” she said.

“The reason there are so many dispensaries is because of supply and demand. There wouldn’t be this much supply if there wasn’t so much demand.”

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Penny Daflos