One of the Capital region’s newest players in the medical marijuana business is sparking controversy with a flyer advertising a two-for-one deal on pot.

James Whitehead, owner of the Gorge Cannabis Dispensary, has attracted attention on social media and from Victoria police with a marketing campaign offering a free gram of cannabis when a single gram is purchased.

His company placed the flyers on car windshields for about three hours around Victoria on Monday until a single tweet caught the eye of police.

“It was brought to our attention shortly thereafter that some citizens took issue with the content of our flyer, and we immediately ceased distribution of our flyer out of respect for the city,” Whitehead said.

He said the decision was voluntary and police didn’t order or ask the company to stop flyering, but a Victoria police spokesman told a different side of the story.

“He was spoken to by police for a purpose today, and the purpose was to cease that activity,” said Insp. Scott McGregor. “It’s not advancing the cause of providing medicine that people who need it. It certainly is pushing the envelope with respect to any kind of perceived grey area with respect to the trafficking of marijuana.”

He said even the act of selling cannabis from a medical marijuana storefront is in direct contravention of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and is subject to enforcement.

However, he said the agency has prioritized policing hard drugs over the sale of pot because the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled people who have a medical need have the right to access it.

“There’s absolutely nothing in the flyers that indicate anything about any medicinal purposes for accessing that marijuana,” McGregor said. “He needs to stop that activity, because it could definitely be perceived as illegal activity.”

But Whitehead said the promotion included the stipulation that customers qualify as a medical pot user by proving they have an approved health condition, and be at least 21 years of age.

“We have one of the highest turn away rates in the city. Quite a few people that come through the door or call us ultimately don’t qualify,” he said.

Dieter McPherson, who runs the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, called the mix-up the latest example of uncertainty creeping into an unregulated but growing industry.

“Obviously mistakes have been made in the past in other industries, much like tobacco and alcohol, and we can learn from those,” he said. “The question of what’s appropriate or not should always come down to an open and informed public debate and discussion.”

McGregor said police generally won’t bust a medical marijuana dispensary unless it’s linked to violent or organized crime, or is involved in selling pot to minors.

With approximately 18 medical marijuana dispensaries calling Victoria home, there are more medical pot storefronts than Starbucks retailers in the city.

With a report from CTV Vancouver Island’s Robert Buffam