Marijuana dispensaries open for business in Vancouver

Of course, selling marijuana out of a storefront is very much illegal in Canada. So it may be hard for some to understand why there are 80 marijuana dispensaries in the City of Vancouver.

Most have opened for business in just the past several months. And some neighbourhoods in Vancouver have as many as four, five, or six such establishments within a few blocks of each other.

This week, Vancouver's city council voted to hold public hearings into the best way to regulate these new stores.

Meanwhile, the federal ministers of Health and Public Safety sent their own messages to the city — warning not to regulate, and therefore legitimize, these operations.

In the coming days on The Current, we'll be taking a more in-depth look at this developing story. But for now, The Current dropped in on a marijuana dispensary in March, before the city of Vancouver announced its plan to regulate the businesses. We hear from voices inside a busy marijuana dispensary in Vancouver.

Stay tuned to The Current, we'll bring you more on the future of these operations in the days ahead.