Pubdate: Tue, 15 Nov 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 Page: 12 POT SHOPS CLOSING, BUT ONE IS GROWING Magna Terra Health Services planning third outlet despite city crackdown Marijuana dispensaries have been closing across the city after police raids and robberies, but one local entrepreneur is expanding. Franco Vigile and his partners plan to open a third Magna Terra Health Services outlet. A storefront at 29 Montreal Rd. will be open "in the near future," Vigile says. The other Magna Terra outlets are on Carling Avenue and in Stittsville. Six of the city's 17 dispensaries closed after raids by the police drug unit on Nov. 4. Another shop run by the same B.C.-based chain was evicted by its landlord. Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau has said he hopes the raids will serve as a warning that illegal businesses are not wanted in Ottawa. But Vigile says his dispensaries provide a valuable service to medical marijuana users. His website says the company hopes to open 16 outlets in Ontario over the next three years. Medical patients can legally buy marijuana by mail from a producer licensed by Health Canada. But legal growers are only allowed to sell dried weed and oil. Many patients prefer edible products or creams, and also like making their purchases in a store. "I'm fully aware that there are currently no laws that govern this method of access and/or provide any direction as to how or where dispensaries can operate," said Vigile in a statement. "However it is quite clear that there is a very significant public demand for this method of accessing medical cannabis and that's not something that should be overlooked solely because a law doesn't exist. We're all humans at the end of the day and we need to appreciate the value behind having facilities like Magna Terra in our communities for the people that need them." The Magna Terra outlets are designed to look like doctor offices. Customers must prove One of Magna Terra's locations on Montreal Rd. in Ottawa. they are medical marijuana patients. Vigile says his cannabis comes from growers in B.C. and has been lab tested, but he can't reveal the sources or the lab. Hundreds of dispensaries have opened across the country, fuelled by public demand and a confusing legal climate. The federal government has promised to legalize recreational pot, but it could be another couple of years before regulations are in place. In Ottawa, the dispensaries targeted in police raids had expanded sales beyond medical marijuana patients, according to police. The landlord of a building on Preston Street that rents to one of the raided shops, Green Tree dispensary, says he's outraged by the police action. It's a waste of taxpayer money, said John Sanders. Sanders says he blames Mayor Jim Watson for trying to distract attention from the real threat, which is increasing gun violence in the city. Seven dispensaries have been robbed this fall, several at gunpoint. Dispensaries reduce crime because they allow people to shop in a store rather Handwritten signs up on the former Green Tree marijuana shop at 256 Bank Street in Ottawa, yesterday. than from street dealers, said Sanders. Sanders, a real estate agent, received a letter from police shortly after Green Tree opened in July, warning that his property could be seized if he allowed illegal activity there. He dismisses it as "scare tactics." "I'm not doing any criminal actions. I'm paying my mortgage on my building. "My job as a landlord is to collect the rent." Green Tree signed a "multi-year" lease and is a good tenant, he said. "I don't see the problem." Another landlord, Hassan Abdul Hussein, who rented a unit in the back of his converted house on Gladstone Avenue to the Releaf Centre dispensary said he didn't know they would be selling marijuana. His tenant, who was from Toronto, closed Releaf last week. The Sylk Medy dispensary across the street closed for the day Friday after a robbery but was open Monday. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt