Instead of spitting out gums and snacks, the vending machines at Vancouver storefront deliver medical marijuana for a few coins
Driving and Riding Common Among College Students After Marijuana and Alcohol Use
New research suggests that underage college students are likely to drive after using marijuana or drinking alcohol.
New research suggests that underage college students are likely to drive after using marijuana or drinking alcohol.
His British Columbia Pain Society is one of about 400 pot stores -- which call themselves medical marijuana dispensaries -- in the western Canadian city.
They're all part of a booming medical marijuana industry that operates in a legal gray zone since a federal court ruling recently overturned Ottawa's latest attempt to regulate its distribution.
No Increase in Use of Marijuana Among Adolescents After Medically Legalized
There is finally a sigh of relief by the parents and physicians concerned about an increase in adolescent's marijuana use following the legalization of medical marijuana.
There is finally a sigh of relief by the parents and physicians concerned about an increase in adolescent's marijuana use following the legalization of medical marijuana.
Many of the smaller growers and distributors, particularly in westernmost British Columbia province, however, refused to step aside.
Advertisements
Higher Risk for Unsafe Driving in Teens Who Use Alcohol and Marijuana Together
The risk of unsafe driving increases in teenagers who drink alcohol and smoke marijuana, reports a study in the May issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
The risk of unsafe driving increases in teenagers who drink alcohol and smoke marijuana, reports a study in the May issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
"Medical marijuana dispensaries operating today in Vancouver do not meet these criteria," the police warning said.
Advertisements
The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes was effectively legalized in Canada in 1999, and its use has been expanded through a series of court challenges.
Calls are now growing to also decriminalize recreational marijuana use -- which Canada has prohibited since 1923.
- 'Pain is gone' -
The medical dispensaries are relatively new.
For generations, pot has been produced and sold here as a street drug, including by gangs, and fueled a vibrant underground economy.
A decade-old study by an economist for the libertarian Fraser Institute think tank estimated the street value of the weed at Can$7 billion a year in British Columbia.
Back at the British Columbia Pain Society, customers have to be 19 or older, and are required to show a signed form from a medical professional -- such as a physician or naturopath -- to enter the fenced area where the marijuana is sold.
They can take their purchase away, or smoke it at a large table with an air filtration system.
Justin Johnson sat at the table and inhaled deeply from a bong -- a glass pipe contraption.
"I feel stoned, slightly euphoric, a little anxious," he said with a little smile.
"And immediately all the pain I have is gone."
Johnson said he has relied on marijuana to reduce pain since injuring his back lifting a heavy box of potatoes in his former job as a chef.
He now works as a pot advocate and is currently setting up a new storefront for the British Columbia Pain Society.
Varabioff said the shiny new vending machines and a second storefront for the business are just the start of his big plans.
He hopes to install marijuana vending machines in nursing homes and medical clinics.
Varabioff said he's a businessman who does not smoke pot because he has asthma, but supports its medical use after watching an elderly relative suffer in pain.
Source-AFP
