Vancouver pot shop deadline here: unlicensed stores told to close today

City of Vancouver bylaw officers will today be out on the streets, checking which unlicensed medical marijuana stores remain open without a permit.

• Deadline looms for 100-plus pot shops while 100s more line up to open

Almost 100 shops are in violation of new City of Vancouver bylaws that forbid stores without business licenses to keep their doors open including those in the appeal process.

Eventually, the city says it will beginenforcing the bylaws by issuing fines of $250 a day.

"They know this is coming, this is not a crackdown, I know it has been portrayed as one. But this is exactly what they bargained for," said Counc. Kerry Jang, adding the shops have had both 30 and60 day notices.

A number of pot shop owners, however, are vowing to stay open and say they will continue to operate in protest.

Last summer, Vancouver introduced bylaws aimed at regulating marijuana businesses, including a requirement that stores be at least 300 metres away from schools, community centres and other pot shops.

"When we passed the bylaw we said, a lot of you, a vast majority of you, will have to close because you are too close to a school or playground or a place that young people congregate," said Jang.

More than 175 existing or plannedbusinesses filed initial applications with the city,but to date few have made it to the final step of the three-stage licensing process.

With files from the CBC's TheEarly Editionand Margaret Gallagher.

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