Pubdate: Wed, 02 Apr 2014
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Peter Edwards
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

IS TORONTO READY FOR A POT PIZZERIA?

Mega iLL Seeks to Expand Business of Serving Slices Baked With 
Medical Marijuana

Mark Klokeid has heard the jokes about his pizzeria and politely 
acknowledges the humour in them.

There's the one about how he's joint owner of what's billed as 
Canada's first pizzeria with marijuana as one of its ingredients.

Joint owner. Get it?

Or how the pizzas are double baked.

Now that he's planning to expand to Toronto over the next few months, 
Klokeid is starting to hear crack cocaine jokes, in reference to 
Mayor Rob Ford's drug problems.

Klokeid suffers through a re-telling of some of the quips with good 
humour, and then talks of how he's providing a needed medical service 
to people with legal prescriptions.

"We have federal patients here in Canada like myself," he said. 
"Where are we supposed to medicate?"

Klokeid has Type 1 diabetes and has undergone bone marrow transplants.

Since he set up shop a week before Christmas, he said he has been 
checked out by a variety of authorities, including police, and 
tobacco, health and environmental regulators.

"We're not trying to get shut down," he said. "We've been very open 
about what we do."

He prides himself on making a healthy product, with whole wheat, hemp 
heart pizza. (Hemp heart is made from shelled hemp seeds.)

The marijuana is either sprinkled on top, like a garnish, with a 
slightly fibery feel, or infused in oil.

In order to have a pot pizza at Mega iLL, you need to prove you are 
over 18 and produce a medical prescription.

Approved customers bring in their own medically-prescribed marijuana 
and hand it over too the cooks.

"There's not a bunch of weed lying around here."

Only the person with the prescription can eat the pizza, so you can't 
order an extra large pie and share it with your prescription-less friends.

There's also delivery service, but that only works for pot-free pizzas.

"We're not just selling weed pizza here," he says. "Ninety-eight per 
cent of our pizza is not medicated."

Klokeid got the idea from a trip to Cambodia, where marijuana infused 
pizzas are called "happy pizzas."

"They put it right on top."

The name "Mega iLL" comes in part from the previous tenant of their 
Vancouver location, whose business was called "Mega Grill."

"We painted over the 'g' and the 'r'," he said, then notes that "ill" 
is slang for what an older generation might call "cool."

"It makes sense for us," he says.

He gently steers the conversation to the health benefits of his pizza.

He notes that the most popular pie at the moment is The Rambo, which 
is a vegetarian pie with caramelized onions, artichokes, roasted red 
peppers, mushrooms, bruschetta and shaved parmesan cheese on a hemp 
heart crust.

"We really do have an awesome pizza outside of the weed thing."

He says he watches over pizza eaters as well, like a wise bartender 
quietly supervises customers.

"I understand people can't get baked and go drive," he says. "Do not 
drive if you have three slices of (medicated) pizza."

His pizzeria doesn't have a liquor license and he doesn't want one. 
"We do not sell liquor or condone it," he says.

He said he plans to fly to Toronto next month to scout out locations 
for a pizzeria here.

"We're definitely going to expand," he said. "I really want to do 
Toronto. I love Toronto."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom