Pubdate: Wed, 28 Sep 2016
Source: Peterborough Examiner, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Peterborough Examiner
Contact: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/letters
Website: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2616
Author: Joelle Kovach
Page: A1

SECOND POT SHOP TO OPEN DOWNTOWN

Cannabis Culture reopens after raid, while Trent University business
student prepares to open another marijuana store

Peterborough's marijuana store, Cannabis Culture, reopened Tuesday
morning, with city police announcing that the opening has their attention.

The shop was closed Sept. 15, days after it opened, when city police
raided it and removed its products. Two people, store owner Richard
Standen and employee Maranda Gallant, were arrested.

Standen, 62, of Wecker Drive in Oshawa, was charged with trafficking
marijuana, possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and
possession of the proceeds of crime.

Gallant, 21, of Brock Street, was charged with trafficking
marijuana.

Both are now out on bail.

One of Standen's bail conditions means he's not allowed back in the
store. Shortly after he was released on bail, he told The Examiner the
store would reopen under the supervision of others.

The reopening was announced Monday afternoon on social media by
marijuana advocate and Cannabis Culture store chain founder Marc
Emery. A lineup formed outside the store before it reopened.

City police issued a statement soon after the reopening, saying the
situation will be monitored.

"There are laws in effect to control the sale and purchase of
marijuana in Canada," the release states.

"Under current marijuana laws, the role of our Police Service remains
enforcement of the current law. Those who breach those laws can be
charged with criminal offences under the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act."

Cannabis Culture sells marijuana to anyone older than 19 for either
recreational or medicinal use.

Meanwhile, the store could soon be facing competition.

Cameron Ogden, a business student at Trent University, says he's
planning to open his own marijuana store in downtown Peterborough -
one that would sell products only for medical use.

Ogden, 24, studies business and entrepreneurship at Trent. He says his
new store downtown store will be called Trent Holistic Centre.

He'll sell marijuana for smoking, as well as cannabis products for
topical use such as salves and bath salts.

Ogden said he would ask customers to speak with him first about their
medical conditions - and fill out forms - to determine whether his
products could be helpful.

Only then would he sell you marijuana. It's a model used by several
stores in Toronto such as Canna Clinic, he said - except they have a
nurse practitioner and a doctor do assessments.

Ogden said he plans to have a nurse practitioner too, once the store
gets established.

In the early days, he'll do assessments himself (he says he's used
marijuana to help with chronic back pain, and feels qualified to help
customers).

It's still unclear where this store will be located, or when it will
open. Ogden says he's having trouble finding a landlord willing to
lease him space.

Landlords are wary of a business that could be closed within days, he
says.

But he says stores in Toronto that sell marijuana strictly for medical
use tend to stay open, while those that sell for recreational use get
raided by police and shut down.

"It's 90 per cent closer to what's legal," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt