The presence of a medical marijuana dispensary may cause a Vancouver condominium building and its residents to lose their insurance policy.
According to a report in the Vancouver Sun, residents at the complex near Hornby and Beach have been advised by their insurance broker that Canadian Northern Shield would cancel its insurance coverage when the medical marijuana dispensary opens Saturday.
“We have been advised by Canadian Northern Shield that once the marijuana dispensary opens, they would be cancelling the policy [and] refunding the unearned premium,” the broker wrote in a letter to residents. “This is not the type of risk they wish to insure.”
Coverage being cancelled includes third-party liability as well as fire, water and other damage.
Despite the broker’s efforts, the risk has been rejected by eight insurance companies on the grounds of increased risk. If the broker does manage to get insurance, the new deductible could skyrocket to $10,000 or $20,000—up from $5,000 in the last policy.
Partly on this premise, building resident Maxine Clough is attempting to stop the store from opening by circulating a petition that has thus far collected 140 signatures.
“We have the Montessori school just down the bike path. We have another pre-school on Burrard Street, where the children go by here all the time,” Clough told the CBC. “We just don’t think this is the right atmosphere [for a medical marijuana store].”
Vancouver city councilor Kerry Jang says there is little the city can do to help the situation, as no permit presently exists for marijuana dispensaries.
“This is because we cannot create a permit for something that’s technically illegal,” Jang explained. “Currently the city has no rules around it because there are no federal laws that we can actually write bylaws to meet.”
The issue could soon plague many insurance brokers in British Columbia despite the illegality, however, as the presence of medical marijuana dispensaries in the province continues to grow. In the last year, for example, the number of dispensaries operating in Vancouver alone grew from six to an estimated 80.
