NOT YOUR DAD’S DEALER
Cannabis consumers can expect the bricks-and-mortar shops coming to Ontario to have the air of trendy boutiques aimed at middle-income and affluent clientele.
Here’s a safe prediction about the design of Ottawa’s first legal cannabis shop: It will resemble a trendy boutique.
The landlord of Superette, the proposed shop in the heart of Wellington West Village, describes it as “high-end retail.”
After all, the middle-income and affluent residents in the neighbourhood are the store’s target demographic, says Derek Noble, owner of Huntington Property Group, which owns the five-storey building at 1306 Wellington St. W., between Island Park Drive and Holland Avenue.
His company was able to extract premium rent from Superette Inc. for a five-year lease on the 3,371-square-foot space on the ground floor.
The lovely floor-to-ceiling windows will probably have to be tinted or covered over, though. Passersby aren’t supposed to be able to peek into the shops and see either pot or the accessories, such as pipes and bongs, that can be sold within.
That detail is just one of the rules governing the stores that are supposed to open on April 1.
Ontario is the second-last province or territory to welcome bricks-and-mortar cannabis stores. (Only Nunavut doesn’t have stores yet either.)
Marijuana is currently sold online at the government-run Ontario Cannabis Store, but policy changes by the Conservative government delayed the storefronts.
The full impact of Canada’s legalization of recreational marijuana won’t hit home until people can shop at their neighbourhood cannabis store, says Trevor Fencott, CEO of Fire & Flower. The chain has stores in Western Canada and plans to open them in Ontario when more licences are available.
Ontario residents, though, will quickly discover that shopping at a cannabis store is not like strolling into either a clothing boutique or the LCBO.
What cannabis stores can sell and how they can sell it are heavily regulated.
There will be no browsing among aisles of merchandise, for instance. Products must be kept out of the reach of customers until they are purchased.
And don’t expect to pick up munchies with your package of pre-rolled joints. The only other things allowed for sale are the accessories used to grind, roll, smoke or store your weed.
Advertising that promotes pot is not allowed. And your shopping experience will be captured on high-definition video, for security purposes.
Owners will have to design stores and build brands within those constraints.
Here’s a guide to what you can expect to see when cannabis shops open in Ontario:
Q Where will the shops be? A
Not in Mississauga, Oakville, Markham, Pickering or Vaughan. Those are some of the larger municipalities that have voted to close their borders to cannabis stores. Across the province, 77 of 414 municipalities have opted out of marijuana retail, mainly in rural areas.
Some politicians said they want to wait and see how it goes elsewhere, and many were upset that municipalities were given little control over the number of shops or where they can be located.
The first wave of shops are also limited to cities with a population of 50,000 or more.
Q How many stores will there be? A
To start, there will be only 25 across the province, distributed among five regions: Toronto, Greater Toronto, Western Ontario, Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario.
The number is being temporarily restricted because of a shortage of marijuana for the recreational market.
Q What is happening in Eastern Ontario? A
Five shops have been allocated to Eastern Ontario in this first phase. They can be located in Ottawa, Kingston, Peterborough, Belleville, Barrie or Kawartha Lakes. So far, two locations have been proposed: Superette on Wellington Street West in Ottawa and Spiritleaf on Princess Street in Kingston.
Q Who will run the shops? A
They will be privately operated. The first 25 shops will be run by winners of a lottery held to determine who could apply for the licences.
Most of the lottery winners were individuals, not corporations, but some have been reaching deals with companies to help them create or operate the stores. For instance, lottery winner Pure Alpha Holdings is working with Superette Inc. on the Wellington Street West shop, and winner Daniel Telio has a licensing deal with the Spiritleaf chain for the Kingston store.
Lottery winners are supposed to maintain control and majority ownership of the shops, though — at least until the lottery period is over on Dec. 13.
Q What will the stores be called? A
The stores are restricted in what names they can choose by federal advertising laws meant to prevent the promotion of pot. Using the names of people, characters or animals, “real or fictitious,” is not allowed, for example. Anything that might appeal to youth or, in theory, make marijuana seem exciting, glamorous or daring is out, too. And recreational marijuana stores cannot associate their brands with medicine, health, or pharmaceuticals.
Here are the names proposed so far: Superette in Ottawa; Spiritleaf in Kingston; The Hunny Pot and Ameri in Toronto; Fabulous Leaf in Oshawa; Central Cannabis in London; The Niagara Herbalist in St. Catharines; and Ganjika House in Brampton.
Q What will the stores look like? A
That’s up to the owners, but based on stores open elsewhere, they tend to be airy, open concept and boutique-like.
Q What’s for sale? A
Stores can sell fresh or dried flower, pre-rolled joints, cannabis oil, capsules filled with oil, seeds and plants. Edible cannabis products such as baked goods and drinks, concentrates such as the substance used in vape pens, and topical products such as creams will be available later. The federal government must finalize regulations for those products by October 2019, but there may be a lag before they land on store shelves.
Stores can also sell cannabis accessories and shopping bags.
Q Can I see and smell the weed? A
Yes. Stores will be allowed to display samples of dried weed in locked “sniffing jars.” No touching the product, though.
Q How much can I buy? A
maximum of 30 grams of weed or the equivalent in oil, since that is the amount you are allowed to possess in public.
Q Are stores allowed to accept payment in cash? A Yes. Q Will I recognize any of the brands on sale? A
If you have shopped at the government’s online Ontario Cannabis Store, products should look familiar. The OCS is also the wholesaler and has supply deals with 36 cannabis growers, including Tweed Inc. in Smiths Falls. Bricks-andmortar stores must purchase their products from the OCS, although they can choose which ones to sell.
Q How much will the weed cost? A
That’s up to the store. Stores can’t offer sales or discounts as an enticement.
Q How old do I have to be to shop? A
Age 19. Your ID will be checked before you are allowed to shop.
Q Can I bring the kids along? A
No. Youths under 19 are not allowed to set foot in the stores.
Q Can people who don’t live in Ontario, including tourists visiting from outside Canada, shop at the stores? A
Yes, as long as they are 19.
Q What hours will the stores be open? A
They can be open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.
Q Can I order online from the store? A
No. You must shop in person. Online sales are allowed only from the Ontario Cannabis Store.
QHow about delivery?
AStores are not allowed to make home deliveries.
QCan I comment on a proposed store before it’s approved?
AYes. Store locations are posted to allow residents and the municipality 15 days to comment. The grounds for objection, though, are limited. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which is responsible for licensing the stores, will consider arguments that a proposed location is not “in the public interest” in order to protect public health and safety, protect youth and restrict their access to cannabis, or prevent illicit activities in relation to cannabis.
The notices for public comment are posted on the proposed store location and the AGCO website.
Q Will there be lineups? A
Probably, especially at first. The number of legal stores will be limited. And many of the illegal dispensaries that once operated in Ontario — including about two dozen in Ottawa — have closed. Demand will be steep.
Q When will the first stores open? A
The first 25 stores are supposed to open by April 1. Observers say that will be a challenge. As of Thursday, with only six weeks to go, only eight of the proposed locations had been posted for public comment.
Q How long will it be before there are more stores? A
That’s not known. Provincial politicians have stressed that the restriction on licences is temporary and will be lifted once the cannabis supply increases.
Regulations governing the 25 stores run by the lottery winners expire on Dec. 13. However, the government could always change the regulations before then to allow more licences to be awarded.
When the province announced last year that it would allow privately owned stores, the plan was to allow an unlimited number of licences.
Q Who inspects the stores and makes sure they are following the rules? A
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is responsible for licensing and inspecting the stores.
Q Who can work at the stores? A
Employees must undergo criminal background checks, but there’s no rule banning those with a record from working at a cannabis store.
Store owners must ensure that all employees act in accordance with the law and demonstrate honesty and integrity. Employees must take a standard four-hour online course about cannabis and selling it responsibly.