Pubdate: Fri, 18 Jul 2014
Source: Chronicle Herald (CN NS)
Copyright: 2014 The Halifax Herald Limited
Contact:  http://www.herald.ns.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180
Author: Dan Arsenault

Q&A WITH CHRIS ENNS, CO-OWNER OF HALIFAX MARIJUANA-THEMED BUSINESS

The grand opening of his new marijuana-themed business - The Farm 
Assists Cannabis Resource Centre on Gottingen Street - is Saturday, 
and co-owner Chris Enns said he intends to be completely open about 
the operation.

He and partner Sherri Reeve opened the doors to the small shop in 
early June but wanted to delay their official opening until now. The 
store offers bongs, T-shirts, hemp backpacks, grinders and, in the 
back, about 12 strains of weed for licensed medicinal marijuana users.

Both owners face charges from a raid at their Grow-Op Shop business 
in Porters Lake in March 2013. They also filed a lawsuit against 
Halifax. Both matters have yet to be heard.

They have been selling marijuana to people with approved licences. He 
said he is only permitted to supply two patients but sells to more 
people than that in the belief the courts won't find his actions 
unconstitutional.

How much marijuana have you sold here?

I wouldn't want to put a tag on the total weight of the cannabis that 
we've sold here. What I can say is that the cannabis that we sell to 
patients on a day-to-day basis is always within the monthly limit 
that they're prescribed by their physician. We are here to provide a 
safe source of medicine and a source of medicine that works for the 
patient, and not trying to provide an income for the patient, per se, 
where they might be able to go out and resell the medicine. If we 
find out a patient is doing that, their membership will be revoked.

What led you to set up shop here on Gottingen Street?

I spent three months contacting any landlord in the city that had an 
ad up, that had a phone number (and) that might be looking for 
tenants. I signed a number of lease agreements that were cancelled by 
landlords and, ultimately, this is where I ended up with a landlord 
that supported us moving forward.

Have you denied service to anyone?

Ultimately, Health Canada has determined that the doctor is the 
gatekeeper for access to medical marijuana, so that (if) the patient 
comes to me and has a doctor's signature, (then) I'm willing to 
provide safe access. If a patient, after receiving safe access, acts 
in a manner that puts myself at risk, puts others within the club at 
risk or steps outside of the boundaries that court decisions have 
suggested may be constitutional, then, absolutely, we would cut off 
safe-providing access in the future.

Are there any clients that have told you they appreciate what you are doing?

It's what we hear every day, all day. Patients that are struggling to 
access under the new regime are waiting weeks for deliveries from 
these licensed producers, (and) the strains they can access are limited.

Has there been any police response to your new shop?

We've had absolutely no interactions with the RCMP or the local 
Halifax Regional Police force since moving into this new location.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom