The boutique dispensary going legal — reluctantly
On a recent weekday morning in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood, the Village Bloomery — a chic marijuana dispensary bathed in natural light — is already buzzing with customers minutes after opening.
One young man seeking something for his anxiety walks past the topical creams and edibles toward the counter in the back, where dried flower strains are stored in opaque jars on wallmounted shelves. A staff member recommends a product that she describes as “uplifting” and “happy.”
As he makes the purchase, he inquires about the store’s plans as legalization nears. The application to the province for a private retail licence is in, she tells him. Now, all they can do is hope for the best.
In 2015, Jeremy Jacobs, a former engineer, co-founded the dispensary along with his wife, Andrea Dobbs — spurred on, he says, by a desire for
“progressive that There they was would social never any doubt, he says, transition from the change.” grey market into the legal space.
effective “Civil disobedience has been a very tool to spread awareness and shine a lens on all the benefits cannabis has to offer,” he says . “Personally I don’t feel it’s the way to make future gains, but some people do. And if they do, I wish them all the best, but I’m not going to go that way.”
That’s not to say the move doesn’t come without some trepidation. Before Oct. 17, the day cannabis becomes legal, Jacobs will have to shut down his dis— pensary and wait for how long, he doesn’t know — for the province to application. prove his licence ap“It’s a real powerless situation, ” he says.
If approved, the next big unknown is whether he will bbe able to stock his shelves with the diversity of products he currently enjoys. Under B.C. regulations,
private retailers will only be able to sell cannabis purchased from B.C.’s Liquor Distribution Branch.
In the near term, that means his supply will be limited to products made by the 31 large federally licensed producers the province has agreements with — not the artisanal or “craft” micro-cultivators that he has relied on from Vancouver Island to the Kootenays. (The federal government says it will open up licensing to micro-cultivators after legalization.)
Furthermore, products will be restricted to dried flowers and cannabis oils, and the potency of those oils cannot exceed 30 milligrams of THC per millilitre. For Jacobs, that means more than 50 per cent of his current inventory will be off-limits post-legalization, including books, accessories and pain ointments.
“That’s a real unfortunate thing," he says. "It’s an unsteady future.”