As the closure deadline approaches for more than 100 unlicensed pot shops in Vancouver, patients with mobility issues are anxious about how the crackdown will affect their access to medicine.

True Natural Healing Society on West Broadway is among the many dispensaries that were refused a licence from City Hall and ordered to shut their doors by April 29.

That was troubling news to Loretta Milne, a senior who relies on the shop for marijuana to treat her migraines and chronic insomnia.

“Getting a full night’s sleep is like a miracle, and it majorly improves my life,” Milne said.

She told CTV News she’s concerned about where she’ll turn, should her neighbourhood dispensaries comply with the city’s orders.

“I’m worried that it’s going to be more difficult once this place and many places close,” Milne said.

Peter Ormesher, another client who’s in his late 50s, credits pot for helping him deal with knee pain. He questions why Vancouver wants to shut down dispensaries despite the federal government’s pledge to legalize the drug next spring.

“I think it’s going to be a bit of a waste of time, quite frankly,” he said.

True Natural Healing Society said roughly a quarter of its patients are 65 years old and older, and two-thirds are at least 40. The dispensary is hoping Ottawa will step in to ensure people can continue to access marijuana until the Liberals’ legalization legislation is introduced.

But as far as the City of Vancouver is concerned, the Friday deadline is firm, and any shops that defy it have been warned they’ll face escalating enforcement actions.

“This is what they wanted. They wanted to be treated like any other business, so that’s what we gave them,” Coun. Kerry Jang said this week.

Those actions can include letters, fines starting at $250 per bylaw infraction, and even court injunctions for forcible closures. With some dispensaries making $10,000 a day or more, many owners say they plan to eat the city’s fines, at least in the short term.

According to Vancouver, a whopping 162 of the 176 applications for pot business licences failed. Most were denied because of a rule barring dispensaries from operating within 300 metres of each other, or of schools, community centres and youth facilities.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Penny Daflos