Press Release: CAMCD Announces New Leadership and New Focus
CAMCD Announces New Leadership And New Focus
CAMCD holds successful AGM, and asks city of Vancouver to work with members
On March 29th, 2016 the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries (CAMCD) held its Annual General Meeting expanding its board and electing new board members. Newly elected President, Dieter MacPherson believes times have changed, legalization is imminent and the organization looks forward to working closely with government on regulations, policy and permitting.
CAMCD has ratified a new set of bylaws that incorporates key structural and organizational changes allowing for broader membership involvement and the development of a more robust organization.
“CAMCD’s new board of directors have established a new, stronger mandate to engage our membership, government and the public. The structural changes allow for every trade member to participate in the direction of the organization and are meant to inspire a new sense of unity, inclusiveness and strength”, said MacPherson.
“We’ve learned a lot working with the City of Vancouver on the Medical Marijuana Related Use Permit Bylaw which we can use toward building more effective bylaws for other municipalities in Canada. As the first organization to work with a Canadian municipal government on medical cannabis land use permitting and we intend to focus more energy on being more effective at this core competency,” said MacPherson
Part of the risk of being the first to introduce new regulations in any industry is that some issues may fall through the cracks. We want to ensure that those issues are dealt with so that we can facilitate smoother implementation for other cities. The City of Vancouver has pioneered the regulatory permitting of medical cannabis dispensaries in Canada and we have great respect for that. Now we want to forge stronger relationships with Vancouver and other municipalities.
CAMCD strongly encourages the City of Vancouver to offer amnesty to our members that are, in good faith, proceeding through declustering or awaiting their Board of Variance hearing. Mr. MacPherson believes “The City of Vancouver was sincere in their intentions so now we need to work with them and other municipalities to ensure that medical cannabis dispensaries can continue to provide the same critical care as they have been for 20 years.”
CAMCD is reaching out to municipalities to offer support and expertise in drafting bylaws to regulate emerging dispensaries. CAMCD emphasizes a community approach to medical cannabis dispensing and believes municipalities are very important stakeholders in the legalization movement despite provincial and federal legalization legislation expected in 2017.
CAMCD is a non-profit trade association for medical cannabis dispensaries founded in 2011. Their Dispensary Certification Program is a rigorous accreditation program developed in part with the support of the UBC SEED Project, and funded by a Peter Wall Solutions Initiative.
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For media inquiries or questions please contact:
Dieter MacPherson
President
