Pubdate: Fri, 08 Jul 2016
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Page: A1
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Jacquie Miller

ILLEGAL POT STORES POP UP ACROSS OTTAWA

Two Canadian marijuana dispensary chains have moved into Ottawa, 
opening three stores and planning more. Stittsville is also about to 
get a marijuana dispensary, which will bring to six the number of 
store-front businesses illegally selling marijuana in Ottawa.

The newest shop, Green Tree Medical Dispensary, opened on Montreal 
Road on Sunday with a selection of dried buds, cookies, candy and 
marijuana-infused drinks on display in a glass case. The Ottawa 
stores all cater to medical marijuana patients. Medical marijuana is 
legal in Canada, but only for patients with a doctor's prescription 
who purchase it from growers licensed by Health Canada, who send the 
medicine by registered mail.

Ottawa police said they are aware of the dispensaries. But they 
aren't saying what, if anything, they will do about them. "We are 
aware of their locations and we are looking into the matter," said 
spokesman Const. Chuck Benoit. "We can't get into any details of 
possible ongoing investigations."

Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury warns that police and city bylaw 
officers are investigating. "When it is appropriate, we will close 
them down," he said, adding that "I would expect some action in the 
near future."

Fleury said they are closely monitoring the situation in Toronto, 
which cracked down after Mayor John Tory said he was concerned about 
marijuana shops popping up everywhere. Toronto police raided 47 
dispensaries in the last six weeks after owners ignored warnings to 
shut down. After a major raid in May, 90 people were arrested and 
police laid 186 charges of possession of marijuana for the purpose of 
trafficking and 71 proceeds of crime charges. City bylaw officers 
also laid 79 charges for zoning violations and selling food without a licence.

"This is the direction we are looking into," said Fleury.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson was "unavailable" to comment, said his 
spokesperson, who provided this statement: "Under the current 
legislation, Ottawa Police has the authority to enforce the law if it 
is breached, and investigate public complaints as they arise."

The federal government has promised to legalize and "strictly 
regulate" recreational marijuana. But until that happens, drug laws 
remain in force, warned a recent statement from the ministers of 
Justice, Health and Public Safety. "The possession, production, and 
trafficking of marijuana remains illegal. This includes storefronts 
selling marijuana, commonly known as 'dispensaries' and 'compassion 
clubs.' These operations are illegally supplied and provide products 
that are untested, unregulated and that may be unsafe."

But new dispensaries continue to open in major cities across Canada.

Ottawa's latest, Green Tree on Montreal Road, is part of a chain with 
20 outlets in Toronto and Vancouver, said a 21-year-old staffer 
working there Tuesday. Tyshanna Bryant said the chain plans to open 
another five stores in Ottawa and Gatineau, with possible locations 
on Bank and Preston streets. She said she was not allowed to provide 
the name or contact information for the owner.

The store employs "compassion pricing" because it's in the low income 
Vanier neighbourhood, she said. "We give them a bit of a break."

The dried marijuana on display in glass jars, with names like Blue 
Amnesia and Afghani Kush, ranges from $2.50 to $14 a gram. It's $4 to 
$20 for the edibles, which include chocolate chip cookies, candy, 
chocolate bars, ice tea powder and pop.

Bryant said about 10 neighbours have already dropped by with positive 
comments. "It's not in a dark alley. It's a nice, friendly environment."

Green Tree dispensaries usually provide doctor consultations by 
video, but the system hasn't been hooked up yet, said Bryant, whose 
title is "bud tender."

On Tuesday, customers were asked to fill out a form listing their 
medical symptoms and history of cannabis use, and promising to use 
the products only for their own medical purposes.

One customer who walked in Tuesday ordered the Monster Hash and 
considered a blend of dried marijuana called Moby that Bryant 
recommended. "This one is a sativa (strain)," she explained. "It will 
give you energy, make you want to clean up your house."

Bryant listed who is eligible to shop at Green Tree: anyone who is 
registered with a marijuana producer licensed by Health Canada; 
anyone who is a member of another dispensary in Ottawa; or anyone 
with an ailment that may be helped by marijuana.

The products are from Vancouver, "all organically grown, so there are 
no chemicals to harm people," she said. Bryant wasn't sure of the 
source, saying that was handled by head office.

It's not easy to locate that office, though. The website for Green 
Tree lists two stores in Nanaimo, B.C., and one phone number. The 
person who answered the phone, Krista Wise, said the two addresses 
are now WeeMedical Dispensary Society outlets. When told they are 
listed on the Green Tree website, she was baffled. "That's weird."

There may be some overlap in ownership between Green Tree and 
WeeMedical, said Wise. She said she was not allowed to give out 
information about the WeeMedical owners, including their phone number 
or location, but promised to pass along a request for an interview. 
"Sometimes they're hard to get ahold of because they're always 
running around." Wise said WeeMedical owns six stores on Vancouver 
Island, seven in Ontario and five or six in Vancouver.

Two emails sent to WeeMedical bounced back as undeliverable. Green 
Tree did not immediately respond to an emailed request for information.

A B.C.-based chain, Weeds Glass & Gifts, has also moved into Ottawa 
with two stores on Montreal Road and on Bank Street downtown.

Weeds is owned by Don Briere, often dubbed the "king of pot" in B.C. 
He has spent 25 years campaigning for the legalization of marijuana 
and been jailed three times for growing and selling cannabis. The 
chain has eight outlets in B.C., one in Quebec City and two in 
Toronto, said Briere in a phone interview from Vancouver. He closed 
five stores in Toronto due to police raids there, but plans are 
underway to open two new ones.

Briere said he may open one or two more stores in Ottawa.

Coun. Fleury said he hopes the federal government does not allow 
marijuana stores when it legalizes pot. He's concerned that clusters 
of shops would open in low-income areas like Montreal Road, similar 
to how pay-day loan businesses congregate there.

Coming soon is a sixth Ottawa dispensary, on Iber Road in 
Stittsville. There will be an open house to launch Magna Terra Health 
Services, probably later this month, said majority owner Franco 
Vigile. Vigile said he talked to Coun. Shad Qadri and the community 
policing officer for the area to assure them the business will 
operate safely and responsibly.

Qadri, in a telephone interview, said he advised Vigile to check with 
city bylaw officials. "At this point in time, the drug is illegal," 
he said. "Based on that, I am not in favour of the (dispensary)."

Vigile is also part owner of Ottawa Medical Dispensary on Carling 
Avenue, which was the first marijuana dispensary in town when it 
opened in November 2015. OMD has 1,000 patients, and many travel from 
the west end, so Vigile said he thought a Stittsville location was needed.

He takes offence to his businesses being called "pot shops," saying 
he considers them medical cannabis clinics. "Various medical studies 
have shown that marijuana helps to heal and bring comfort to a lot of people.

"We're doing a lot of good for the community, and we're dedicated 
toward the golden standard, basically, in the cannabis industry, to 
making sure that health and safety are our number one priorities."

Employees at Magna Terra take a 14-hour education program he devised 
with help from an Ottawa teacher to educate them about the science, 
chemistry and proper dispensing of marijuana, said Vigile.

Customer screening at OMD and Magna Terra is stricter than at Green 
Tree and Weeds outlets. Patients must have a doctor's prescription 
for marijuana, or prove they can legally obtain marijuana from a 
producer licensed by Health Canada. The OMD office looks like a 
doctor's waiting room, and the marijuana is out of sight in a back room.

In Vancouver and Victoria, city officials have tried to control 
illegal pot stores by licensing them. Fleury said he's not aware of 
any such move in Ottawa.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom