Trailblazing outdoor lounge planned at downtown shop
PENTICTON — A cannabis shop in downtown Penticton is the first in the Okanagan to reveal plans for an outdoor smoking lounge, which its owner hopes will help sprout a new weed-based tourism sector.
Cannabis Cottage plans to officially open its outdoor patio with a party on April 20 in accordance with newly updated provincial regulations.
Customers will be able to eat, smoke, vape and even drink the cannabis products they purchase on site. And, while still not on par with tasting rooms or lounges at wineries and breweries, it’s a start.
“The next step is really to start embracing tourism and getting this sector recognized and having a place in tourism,” said Mariana Wolff, owner of Cannabis Cottage, in an interview Tuesday.
“It’s a great alternative to alcohol lounging or alcohol consumption. We find a lot of customers, even ones that are new faces, are saying: ‘I want to quit drinking or dial it back.’ So, whatever you’re trying to do, (cannabis) is just another way that you can still have that little buzz and socialize – but you don’t have the hangover that follows.”
Wolff said she always envisioned an outdoor smoking patio in the front yard of the shop – which opened in 2019 in a converted century-old home on the 300 block of Martin Street – but had to settle for gently testing the limits with events like puff-and-paint art classes while waiting for the law to catch up.
“It’s how the industry works,” she said. “You have to push boundaries.”
Her shop is sandwiched between a church – which has only asked there be no smoking during Sunday school – and another commercial building, making it ideally suited for a consumption space.
Offering a consumption space is also one of the few ways Cannabis Cottage can differentiate itself from competitors, all of whom are under the same strict government regulations and supply, while battling for the same customers.
There are currently nine licensed cannabis retailers within Penticton and at least as many unlicensed shops on the Penticton Indian Reserve.
The B.C. government in mid-February quietly released the new regulations that permit licensed cannabis retailers to allow customers to consume products on premises, provided the businesses comply with local smoking bylaws.
According to a bulletin that accompanied the update, the B.C. Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch “is making gradual changes to improve hospitality and tourism opportunities for the cannabis industry.”
Under the changes, “licensees are able to promote a place to consume cannabis or to spend time after consuming cannabis.”
Public consultation on the idea of allowing outdoor smoking lounges began in 2022 – four years after Canada decriminalized recreational use of the drug – and results were released in 2023.
The final report showed cannabis user and non-users were sharply polarized on the issue of outdoor smoking lounges.
Of more than 15,000 people who participated in an online survey, the report said 94% cent of people who use cannabis supported the spaces, while 91% of people who don’t use the drug opposed them.
However, the report says the results from the online survey don’t necessarily represent the opinions of the broader B.C. population because of the potential for self-selection bias associated with choosing to take part.