Running ads for Vancouver dispensaries could land you in trouble

Publishers beware, selling ads for Vancouver’s booming dispensary business may not be a good idea

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Plus, the massacre off Dunbar Street and Vancouver is for book lovers

Jazz cigarettes
You can smoke it, you can sell it, but don’t you dare advertise it—because marijuana (the recreational kind) is still illegal in Canada, and the federal government plans to vigourously enforce the rules. This time at least. That’s how the Vancouver International Jazz Festival got slapped with a strongly worded warning from Health Canada—that it could be handed up to $5 million in fines or, gasp, two years in prison for running ads for medical marijuana dispensaries on its website and in its program guide. The group that runs the festival was quick to pull the ad off its website but said there’s not much it can do about the hundreds of flyers already printed. Oh, and the reason the jazz group got flagged for promoting narcotics: it outsourced its ad sales. (via CTV)

Vancouver chainsaw massacre
Three healthy Douglas Firs. One overzealous Westside developer. The result? Public outrage, liability for hundreds of dollars in fines—and, for the homeowner at least, more daylight. Somehow, the decision to knock down a few trees on a lot at 37th and Collingwood has stirred the pot of collective outrage—for the second time in less than a month—generating hundreds of comments, enraged neighbours and finger-pointing at the builder, the arborist and the property owner. (via CBC)

Canada reads
Most livable, least affordable. Now try this one: most read. Vancouverites, according to Amazon’s data, buy more books per capita than anyone else in Canada. But don’t fret, suburban readers: Burnaby was ranked No. 11, Richmond No. 13 and Surrey No 16. Surprisingly, Victoria, once home to a Nobel laureate and an Amazon subsidiary, did not rank on the list.