From free joints on the lawn of the B.C. legislature, to parties at Victoria dispensaries, the provincial capital lit up on the first day of cannabis legalization in Canada.

While there was jubilation in the streets, the resounding message from activists and dispensaries is that legalization doesnB次元官网网址檛 go far enough B次元官网网址� there is more work to be done.

On the lawn of the legislature, longtime cannabis activist Dana Larsen spoke of B次元官网网址渉arsh penaltiesB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渟trict regulations far, far beyond the kind of rules and penalties they put in for alcohol.B次元官网网址�

Dispensaries are concerned about the delivery disruptions of medicine to patients who depend on cannabis for pain relief.

At a B次元官网网址�420 Celebration Of LegalizationB次元官网网址� at Trees Dispensary on Yates St. Oct.17, company CEO Dadmehr Naimi said they will stay open until there is a Victoria dispensary that gets licensed or if a government licensing body asks them to close.

B次元官网网址淲e are worried about a lot of the products the patients wonB次元官网网址檛 have access to. WeB次元官网网址檙e hoping the transition period allows enough time for the [BC Liquor Distribution Branch] to stock up on all the patientsB次元官网网址� needs,B次元官网网址� Naimi said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e hoping the government is going to give us a grace period until our application is processed.B次元官网网址�

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Charles Philp, co-founder of Leaf Compassion, also chose to stay open during the transition, not wanting to leave Victoria residents scrambling.

B次元官网网址滻B次元官网网址檝e been doing the legal fight in the courts for two-and-a-half now. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a ton more work to do. WeB次元官网网址檙e just trying to make sure the people have service,B次元官网网址� said Philp who is concerned about what the threat of the upcoming postal strike would mean for patients ordering cannabis through the only government licensed shop in B.C. - located in Kamloops.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 why we chose not to shut down. We are going to continue doing what we have been doing for the last four years, and that is sell cannabis. We lab test it and we also pay our taxes so we are benefiting Canadian society as well.B次元官网网址�