Dispensaries closing their doors
Illegal dispensaries still open Oct. 17 will lose chance to run a legal store
Blayne Farquharson was feeling nostalgic as he helped a steady stream of customers at the Cannabliss marijuana shop on Saturday.
“It’s been a lot of fun here,” he said. “But just a few more days left. This is our last Saturday.”
The Preston Street dispensary will close Tuesday, the day before recreational marijuana is legalized across the country.
Some of the people who work at Cannabliss plan to apply for a licence to run a legal marijuana store, he said.
The Ontario Conservative government says it will issue an unlimited number of licences to private operators to run marijuana stores that will start opening across the province in April 2019.
But anyone involved with an illegal dispensary on Wednesday won’t be eligible for a licence.
It’s a strong incentive for an estimated 20 marijuana dispensaries in Ottawa to close before legalization.
Another incentive would be the stiff penalties for both dispensary owners and landlords who rent to them under the provincial cannabis law that takes effect Wednesday.
The law also gives police the power to close any shop where marijuana is sold illegally.
In the past, it’s been difficult to close the dispensaries. Police have conducted sporadic raids and charged clerks inside with drug trafficking, but some establishments simply reopen and new ones emerge.
It remains to be seen how many of the city’s dispensaries will take the risk of remaining in business. Two dispensaries that catered to medical patients have already closed.
Cannalife, another busy Preston Street shop, closed recently. A sign on the door directs customers to dispensaries on Rideau and Bank streets.
Farquharson said workers at Cannabliss are hopeful they ’ll have jobs at a legal shop next spring. It’s unclear who will apply for a licence — the owners of Cannabliss want to remain anonymous — or whether they will try to keep the same location.
“We would love to have the place here,” Farquharson said. “It’s a great location and everyone in the community loves us.”
The province plans to hold consultations on what regulations, including hours of operation and staff training, should govern the privately run shops.
Two customers outside Cannabliss said they will miss shopping there but look forward to the online store run by an agency of the provincial government to open Wednesday.
“I’ll try it out for sure,” said Nicholas Stewart, 20. “In my opinion, competition is always good. It will drive the prices down.”
However, he likes cannabis concentrate products, such as vape pens, which will not be available in legal stores initially.
Only dried flower and cannabis oil will be for sale, although the federal government has promised to regulate concentrates and edible products within a year of legalization.
“I might still go the illegal route,” said Stewart, who says black-market online stores offer good quality and a wide variety of products.
Theodore Kincaid, 20, said that if the government online store and the private legal shops offer enough products at a good price, the black market will be driven out quickly. “It would make no sense to purchase it any other way.”
Both men said they had trouble believing that in a few days recreational pot will be legal.
“I’ve been acting like it’s legal for a long time now,” Kincaid said. “But what makes me feel better is the overall social acceptance. Once it’s legal, people will have less of a sense of authority over you — ‘Oh, that’s illegal.’
“I’ll be able to walk around smoking a joint,” he marvelled. “It’s amazing, and I’ll take advantage of it.”
He said he prefers marijuana to alcohol.
Stewart predicted the stigma against marijuana use will vanish quickly. He points to a bench on the sidewalk, saying he can’t quite believe that in a few days someone could sit there and openly consume pot.
“If you see a guy (sitting there) ripping on a bong, it will be strange.”
The provincial government plans to allow pot smoking wherever tobacco use is allowed, including sidewalks.
However, municipalities could choose to slap on more restriction on public consumption.
An Ottawa bylaw already prevents smoking of any kind in city parks, at beaches and on municipal property.