Pubdate: Sat, 30 Jul 2016
Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
Page: A8
Copyright: 2016 The Hamilton Spectator
Contact:  http://www.thespec.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181

BRIGHTER MOMENTS TEMPORARILY CLOSES POT DISPENSARY

Owner optimistic it can reopen Sept. 1 if court case goes as planned

Brighter Moments Dispensary has turned off the lights - for now.

The marijuana dispensary on King Street East near Ferguson Avenue was 
raided by Hamilton police July 21.

Four days after vowing to stay open, owner Luke Williams was advised 
by his legal counsel that his decision could put him behind bars 
until his first court appearance at the end of August.

If court proceedings go according to plan, they could be operating in 
brick and mortar by Sept. 1, Williams said.

"We want to come back, and we want to come back strong."

For now, though, Williams and Cory Kaus, a volunteer operator, will 
be "medicating" patients door to door.

"We're patients and they're patients, so we can legally medicate 
together," Kaus said.

The police confiscated $50,000 dollars worth of marijuana products 
from the store.

Williams was never told why police decided to raid the dispensary 
last week, even though he has an open-door policy since opening in 
the early fall last year.

He says his user base, which is growing to 800-odd patients, may have 
had something to do with it.

His store has been able to offer solutions that are lacking within 
the federal medical marijuana framework, which offers patients little 
more than dried versions of the plant, Williams said.

"I had a 65-year-old patient walk in with dried plant and ask "how do 
I use this?"

- -The Hamilton Spectator
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom