Marijuana centre coming to Hintonburg
Storefront will not dispense cannabis products
By Emma Jackson
Ottawa West News, Feb 24, 2015
A medical marijuana “gatekeeper” could open its doors this spring on Hintonburg’s main street.
National Access Cannabis spokesperson Colin Trethewey said the company is in the process of taking over the Heavens to Betsy boutique at 1111-B Wellington St. just east of Rosemount Avenue.
Although the company hasn’t yet signed a lease, Dawn Carlisle, who co-owns the current boutique, said contractors and an interior designer were in the shop taking measurements for the new facility on Tuesday afternoon.
Trethewey stressed the centre will not be a dispensary, and there will be no cannabis products on site. Instead, the company considers itself an information centre, a gatekeeper of sorts, for people already using medicinal marijuana, or for those who have heard of the benefits and want to know more.
“It’s helping patients understand medical marijuana and then guiding them through the process, because it’s quite a complicated process,” Trethewey said.
A big part of it is convincing a physician to issue a medical document, the legal piece of paper that allows a patient to order cannabis from a licensed provider.
The only way patients can receive cannabis right now is by mail order through Canada Post, so Trethewey said fears of a drug dispensary setting up shop in Ottawa’s downtown won’t be realized – at least for a very long time. And if someday the rules did change to allow National Access Cannabis to provide some sort of pick-up service, the current stores would have to find new locations that could offer the appropriate security, he added.
The Hintonburg centre will offer patients a chance to meet with an on-site pharmacist to discuss proper dosage and use, recommended strains for various ailments and potential adverse interactions with other prescription drugs, Trethewey said.
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said he hasn’t done enough research to say whether or not he supports the new facility, but he said the city doesn’t have much control over the matter other than to issue a business license and enforce existing by-laws.
“Ultimately the zoning is for a traditional main street and this kind of use would be allowed,” Leiper said. “It would fall under a pharmacy or a medical clinic.”
His main concern, other than encouraging the new business owners to engage with the community, is to make sure the community is comfortable with a drug-related business setting up shop.
“This community has had its challenges with drugs in the past, but 15 years ago, 10 years ago, the challenges in Hintonburg were associated with hard drugs like crack and heroin and with street prostitution,” Leiper said. “Obviously medical marijuana is different.”
While he said he’s not sure how the community will react, it’s not a stretch to think most people will be supportive.
“When I was campaigning this summer, the smell of weed was often in the air,” he said. “It’s a pretty progressive ward ... The tide toward legalization is probably unstoppable.”
Carlisle said she’s not against the idea of a cannabis centre in principle, but she said she had hoped the space where she ran her store would continue to offer a more inclusive space.
“It’s not really a place to shop or to gather ... like a cafe or a restaurant or a shop,” she said. “I know a lot of our customers have said, ‘I hope it’s another interesting shop in here.’”
A marijuana centre, conversely, will appeal only to a specific group of people, she said.
Trethewey said the company is also looking at opening another location somewhere on Bank Street.
http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/news-story/5446626-marijuana-centre-coming-to-hintonburg/
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She wants to check out the Toronto Premium Outlet and the Burberry store there but now that Nordstrom is here, we may not need to hit the GTA. 
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