Pubdate: Wed, 10 Aug 2016
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.ottawasun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.ottawasun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author: Jacquie Miller
Pages: 4-5

GROWING LIKE A WEED

Business is booming for local marijuana dispensaries

Jordan Chambers dropped in to the Weeds marijuana dispensary on
Montreal Road recently and bought a package of cannabis-infused
chocolate turtles and two coconut dreamy bars.

"I think this is great," she said of the dispensary, whose display
cases are stuffed with jars of dried weed and packages of cookies,
brownies and candy. Staff warned her not to eat the treats in one
sitting, because they are potent.

The federal government has warned that the marijuana products sold at
illegal dispensaries such as Weeds are unregulated and could be unsafe.

That doesn't worry customers such as Chambers, who are flocking to
Ottawa's eight dispensaries by the hundreds. Customers interviewed at
dispensaries across town said they appreciate the convenience of the
pot shops, the variety of products and the chance to talk to a store
employee.

Like Chambers, many customers have also signed up to buy medical
marijuana legally from a producer licensed by Health Canada. Those
producers, which include Tweed Inc. in Smiths Falls, are only allowed
to sell dried weed or oil. They are restricted to online sales, and
must send products by mail.

Chambers said the dried weed she tried from three licensed producers
had a chemical smell that triggered migraines, and she said she didn't
like the taste of their oil. Her verdict on the chocolates from Weeds?
The turtles are "inconsistent, and a bit pricey," she said. The first
night she ate one turtle and it sent her into a deep, restful sleep,
but the second night the same chocolate had no effect at all, she
said. She paid $12 for the pair.

The cocunut dream bars at Weeds dispensary are potent, warn staff.
Chambers said medical marijuana is the only thing that eases the
debilitating pain she has suffered since a truck ran over her foot
when she was working at Home Depot in 2011. Pot helps stimulate her
appetite, and calms her racing mind, said Chambers, who also suffers
from attention deficit disorder and anxiety.

"I'm sure I would have been locked into a loony bin or killed myself"
without medical marijuana, she said.

The only concern Chambers had about purchasing her medicine from Weeds
was that staff did not allow her therapy dog, Fyn, to accompany her
inside the store. (She said she may complain to her city councillor
about that.)

The products sold at dispensaries are from the black market. The
federal government estimates the value of the illegal marijuana trade
in Canada at $7 billion a year. That vast underground industry
includes both growers and clandestine kitchens baking the brownies,
cookies and gummy bears. Cannabis advocates paint a picture of
artisanal and mom-and-pop growers who are seasoned professionals. The
federal government warns about the presence of organized crime in the
marijuana trade, saying that's one of the reasons it has decided to
legalize pot.

But while the federal government studies what regulations it will
impose on recreational marijuana, the dispensaries have popped up
across the country, illegally peddling a wide variety of products.

The 33 licensed medical marijuana producers, including Tweed, test
marijuana for chemical potency as well as such things as mould,
bacteria, heavy metals and pesticides. Health Canada oversees the producers.

At the dispensaries, there are no rules except the ones the operators
self-impose. Some dispensaries have their products tested, but labs
that do the work clandestinely risk being charged under Canada's drug
laws.

At Weeds, which calls itself Canada's largest marijuana dispensary
chain, the dried bud and edibles are shipped from British Columbia,
owner Don Briere says.

The marijuana is grown by patients who have licences to grow medical
pot for themselves under an old Health Canada regulatory system,
Briere says. The patients just grow a little extra. Or, apparently, a
lot extra. Briere said he spent $10 million last year buying weed to
supply his growing chain of dispensaries, including two in Ottawa.
There are 28,000 people in Canada who are allowed to grow medical pot
for themselves, according to Health Canada. However, the licences do
not allow them to grow "extra" or sell to dispensaries.

The Vancouver-based Briere has spent 25 years campaigning for the
legalization of marijuana. He has long-standing connections with
growers in B.C., where cannabis is a major cash crop. Briere was
busted in 1999 after police found a huge network of grow-ops in the
province, and he has served three prison terms on drug charges.

Briere said he wants to run legitimate pot shops, and would be glad to
follow any reasonable regulations the government might impose on his
stores.

The weed sold at Weeds is tested in B.C. laboratories, and the edibles
are produced in commercial kitchens that follow food safety rules,
says Briere. One of the labs that Briere identified is now in the
process of closing, according to a lab tech who answered the phone at
Wagon Wheel lab in Richmond, B.C. She referred the call to another
man, who did not want to be identified but said the lab owners decided
to comply with a Health Canada order to close.

A spokesperson at the other B.C. lab Briere identified said the
facility has a licence to test marijuana from medical-pot licence
holders. "But if somebody (brought in) hundreds of kilos a week, and
they're obviously serving massive numbers of people on both sides of
the camp, medical and recreational, we'd say no," said Wendy Riggs,
manager of lab services at MB Laboratories in Sidney, B.C. "I'm not
interested in that game."

Franco Vigile of Magna Terra dispensary says his customers trust him
to provide high quality, safe medical marijuana. Franco Vigile, the
operator of Magna Terra dispensary on Carling Avenue, also said the
marijuana he sells is from growers who have personal medical pot
licences. His growers have a reputation in the industry for "Grade A"
products, said Vigile. He would not identify them, or the lab he says
tests their products.

The 1,200 patients who use Magna Terra know the business is operated
responsibly, he said. Consumers trust many other businesses, and his
is no different, said Vigile. Consider a tomato served at a
restaurant. "How do you know where those were grown? Was there
pesticide on them? Were they washed?" How do customers at a bar know
their drink isn't drugged? he asked.

Patrick Lavigne, whose company Mary Janes Medicinals makes cannabis
oil, salves and capsules that are sold at Capital City Cannabis
Clinic, says he does his best to ensure his products are pure and
safe. He works with a grower who produces organic weed. The cannabis
oil used to make the products is tested at a "professional laboratory"
in Toronto, said Lavigne. He makes the products himself at a
commercial kitchen, the location of which he declined to specify.

Most Ottawa customers don't care about testing, Lavigne said. Many
have been smoking pot for years they bought on the black market.
"Marijuana has been grown around the world with no testing. Testing is
a new thing.

"As far as I'm concerned, testing really is just a scare tactic to
create financial benefit for big (licensed) companies. That's my belief."

It's more difficult to get information about the three Green Tree
dispensaries that have opened in Ottawa this summer. The man in charge
at the Preston Street shop would not identify himself or provide any
information about the ownership of the company and the products it
sells. Any publicity is bad publicity, and may attract attention from
the police, the man said.

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[sidebar]

The Customers : Who's buying

Marijuana candies replace heavy drinking for Weeds
customer

Who: Marc Clairoux

What he bought: Cannabis jelly candy from Weeds dispensary

A few months ago, Marc Clairoux gave up heavy drinking at night in
favour of a popping a cannabis candy. His doctor had prescribed a
pharmaceutical to help with his insomnia - Clairoux doesn't remember
the name of the drug.

But instead of filling the prescription at a pharmacy, Clairoux took
it to a Weeds medical dispensary and got himself signed up as a
customer who would benefit from medical marijuana. Weeds staff
suggested jelly candies that look like little Lego pieces.

They work like a charm, says Clairoux, who adds they let him sleep and
not wake up groggy. He's also cut down on his drinking.

"I haven't been drunk in eight months. I used to drink a 26 (ounce
bottle) a night.

"When I smoke pot, I don't drink. And when I don't drink, I don't get
into any shenanigans."

Unlike alcohol, pot makes him calm, and doesn't cloud his judgment as
much, Clairoux said. "You're not going to send a 20-minute
embarrassing text to some girl you just met. It's a high, but you can
still make sound decisions."

Clairoux said he chose to buy from a dispensary rather than a producer
licensed by Health Canada for reasons of "pure convenience." He owns a
pawnshop and a tattoo parlour a few doors down from the Weeds shop on
Montreal Road.

Experienced patient says he can tell if the weed is high
quality

Who: Anthony Floyd

What he bought: Dried weed from Ottawa Medical Dispensary (Magna
Terra) and at Weeds

Anthony Floyd says he's not worried that the dried weed he buys from
Ottawa dispensaries will be mouldy or unsafe. The weed is sold
illegally and is not regulated by the government. But after two years
of medical pot use, Floyd says he has a good appreciation for how
marijuana should look, smell, burn and taste. "It's the same as going
to a grocery store and buying an apple. You'd be able to see the mould."

The idea that customers can't tell good weed without the advice of
professionals is ridiculous, he says. "It's something anybody would be
able to notice."

Floyd, 24, first tried recreational pot when he was 19. A couple of
years ago, a doctor suggested he try marijuana to help regulate his
blood sugar.

Floyd says it has helped control his diabetes and autoimmune
disorders. He tried stopping temporarily, but got a bald spot on the
side of his head.

Floyd also purchases medical marijuana from MariCann, a producer
licensed by Health Canada.
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MAP posted-by: Matt