A Vancouver lawyer says there appears to be different laws for different people when it comes to cannabis-related offences, and says enforcement of cannabis laws has been a thorny issue so far in B.C.

Speaking on the Woodford Show with Jason Hewlett, Acumen Law’s Kyla Lee says earlier this month, an Indigenous man in Manitoba was sentenced to 10 months in prison for possession for the purpose of trafficking. She says that is the only conviction she is aware of since legalization.

“There’s even an example of dispensaries that were so short on legal cannabis that they were buying cannabis from black market growers, and then selling it at their dispensaries. And they got nothing but a slap on the wrist and told ‘don’t do it again.’ Not even a charge, not even a ticket.”

Lee also says the 4-20 protest in Vancouver three days ago is an example of a troubling discrepancy in enforcement, where she says many people were selling cannabis illegally and weren’t getting arrested or charged.

In B.C., Lee says the provincial government is dragging its heels on having proper enforcement in place for tackling illegal sales of cannabis.

Lee says there is a Community Safety Unit created by the province but says no resources are being committed to it, and she says that means local police forces have their hands tied.

“A lot of police forces are saying ‘look, we don’t the resources to spend investigating illicit cannabis distribution and sales, so we’re going to leave it to the Community Safety Unit. But without a Community Safety Unit, there’s no enforcement of the existing regulatory framework.”

She says the model being used to enforce cannabis laws is consistent with the model for enforcing liquor laws, and says resources could be moved from the Liquor Branch to enforce cannabis until permanent resources are in place.