Pubdate: Thu, 12 Nov 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Mike Hager
Page: S3

POT SHOPS SEE SURGE IN INTEREST

Since Trudeau Pledged to Legalize Marijuana Sales, Stores Are Seeing 
a 'Noticeable Increase' In Prospective Owners Asking Advice

The day after the Liberals won the federal election, cannabis 
consultant Eric Nash's inbox was hit with 20 e-mails from people 
across Canada asking for guidance on how to open marijuana dispensaries.

Until now, the growth of dispensaries - which remain illegal under 
federal drug laws - has generally been concentrated in Vancouver and 
Victoria, where local governments and police have largely allowed 
them to flourish.

But a handful of stores began operating in other provinces over the 
past several weeks and experts predict dozens more could open across 
the country in the wake of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's pledge to 
legalize and regulate recreational sales - something that could take 
at least two years to become a reality.

Mr. Nash, whose e-mail traffic has slowed to about four requests a 
day, said the first thing he tells prospective dispensary owners to 
do is to get a lawyer, because the law hasn't changed.

"There's a public perception of definitely a more lenient approach 
toward enforcement and laying charges," said Mr. Nash, who has been 
licensed by Health Canada under previous rules to grow medical 
marijuana on Vancouver Island since 2002.

"With the U.S. moving that way, that perception bleeds over into 
Canada here and then you've got the current government saying they're 
going to legalize," added Mr. Nash, who has been called to Federal 
Court as an expert witness in an ongoing challenge to the existing 
medical-pot regime.

About 150 to 200 illegal dispensaries and compassion clubs now offer 
Canadians the face-to-face sale of cannabis products. They are 
unrelated to the licensed federal system of commercial growers, whose 
mail-order sales are overseen by Health Canada.

David Brown, communications director at Vancouver-based Lift, said 
his startup has received a handful of calls in the past two weeks 
from new dispensaries in Metro Vancouver and the Toronto area asking 
to be added to its online database of Canada's dispensaries.

"I wouldn't say an explosion, but there's certainly a noticeable 
increase and I think a lot of people are going for it now," Mr. Brown 
said. "We will see people continue to be less concerned with 
enforcement and then trying to get their place in the market before 
regulations come along."

Chris Clay said he has had no problems since opening the Warmland 
Cannabis Dispensary three months ago just outside the Vancouver 
Island community of Duncan. Mr. Clay was charged two decades ago for 
selling pot seedlings at his London, Ont., hemp store, but said the 
time and location seemed right to re-enter the industry after years 
as an IT professional.

After consulting with authorities, he said he decided to forgo trying 
to get a business licence in Duncan and opted for nearby Mill Bay, 
where he was embraced by the regional district and now is a proud 
member of the South Cowichan chamber of commerce.

Since opening, Mr. Clay said he has turned down requests from six 
dispensaries in Eastern and Atlantic Canada "trying to line up a 
supply" of prized B.C. bud.

"It seems like everyone and their brother wants to open one," he said.

A dispensary's success often depends on the individual community that 
surrounds it, not necessarily the province, he said. A Saskatoon 
compassion club was raided at the end of last month by the city's 
drug squad, while police in the nation's capital said they wouldn't 
wade into a "legal grey zone" to shut down a dispensary that made 
headlines when it opened there earlier this month.

"I don't have any neon pot leaves in the window," Mr. Clay said. 
"People have to find us: We have a very visible location on the 
highway, but, unless you know what we are, just driving by you'd 
think it was a cafe or bakery or something."

There are roughly 500,000 medical cannabis users in Canada over the 
age of 25, according to a survey commissioned by Health Canada. Less 
than 24,000 people were registered under the federal government's 
mail-order medical pot system at the end of last June.

That means, for now, illegal dispensaries and compassion clubs are 
likely supplying between 100,000 and 200,000 patients while a 
remaining 300,000 or so people continue to turn to the black market, 
according to Mr. Nash.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom