The City of Vancouver says nine illegal marijuana dispensaries must close down while they wait for the outcome of a legal challenge at the B.C. Court of Appeal.

The city says the Appeal Court denied a stay of a B.C. Supreme Court decision that ordered the dispensaries named in a lawsuit to close.

In 2016 and 2017, the city filed petitions against 53 marijuana-related businesses operating outside municipal regulations, most of which agreed to a test case in the B.C. Supreme Court.

Some of the dispensaries closed before the Supreme Court sided with the city in December.

In a statement on Friday, the city says it expects the nine stores to obey the court order. If they do not comply, the city says it will seek to have them found in contempt of court.

So far, the city has issued six cannabis retail licenses to businesses throughout Vancouver.

The nine stores are: