Parents upset that Orleans pot shop next to tutoring, martial arts classes

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Some parents in Orléans are furious that an illegal pot shop has opened in the building where their children attend martial-arts classes and after-school tutoring.

A marijuana dispensary called CannaGreen opened on Sept. 11 in the front of a small commercial building on St. Joseph Boulevard. The back of the building houses The Edge Taekwon-Do Academy and Kumon Math and Reading Centre. All the businesses share a parking lot in the back.

“This is killing me, it’s stressing me out,” said parent Nawal Zayat, who was on a bench outside the building, waiting for her son Fidel at his taekwondo class and her daughter Sarah at tutoring. Like a dozen other parents interviewed, Zayat said the dispensary should be located somewhere else. 

The parents can’t understand why an illegal shop selling dried weed as well as cannabis-laced brownies, cookies, pop and candy shaped like teddy bears is allowed to operate alongside two businesses that cater to children.

Zayat said she and her son smelled the odour of pot wafting out the front door of CannaGreen as they walked by building. “He said, ‘mommy, what’s that smell?’ I told him ‘oh, maybe it’s a skunk.’ 

“I don’t want to tell my eight-year old boy there is drugs there. We don’t want our kids exposed at this young age. They may want to try it.” 

Fawzia Omar said she plans to pull her three young children out of the Kumon tutoring centre. “We are terrified,” she said. Some of the pot shop customers in the parking lot look scary and drive too fast, she said. “It’s not safe, honestly. I don’t want my kids to be exposed to that kind of environment.

“A business like this shouldn’t be so close to kids.”

Upstairs in the taekwondo school, children in white martial-arts outfits practised splitting plastic boards with their feet in an airy studio. Owner Joël Denis said he was upset, too. “If these places are not going to be shut down, and they’re allowed to operate, then there should be rules, and one of the rules should be they shouldn’t operate in proximity to establishments that have children.” 

Denis said he was disappointed that the owner of the building rented to a pot shop. The owner, who operated the taekwondo school before Denis took over, did not return phone calls on Wednesday or Thursday.

The ward’s councillor, Jody Mitic, said on Thursday that he’s received 30 calls or emails from residents complaining about CannaGreen. Mitic said it’s a difficult issue for him, because he’s aware of the benefits of medical marijuana, and thinks the operators of CannaGreen probably mean well. “Just be patient and open your shop once it’s legal, and put it in the right place, too.”

He said he’s spoken to the Ottawa police, who say they are investigating. “I’m not allowed to say any more.”

At least 15 marijuana dispensaries have opened in town, most in central Ottawa. “Right now these places are more or less operating in the wild west,” said Mitic.

None of the dispensaries has a business licence. City bylaws don’t include provisions for illegal pot shops.

Bob Monette, the councillor for neighbouring Orléans ward, said that as far as he’s concerned, CannaGreen is not welcome in the neighbourhood. The city’s chief bylaw officer told him residents should take their complaints to the police, said Monette.

“If (dispensaries) are doing something illegally, definitely there should be some enforcement, but I’ll leave that to the police department to make that call.

“As far as I’m concerned, if they don’t meet the legal criteria right now, they should be shut down.”

Mayor Jim Watson has declined repeated requests over the last two months to comment on the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries in Ottawa. “The federal government regulates marijuana laws, and Ottawa Police has the jurisdiction to enforce them if a complaint arises,” according to a statement from his office.

CannaGreen is one of hundreds of marijuana dispensaries that have popped up across the country. The federal government says the dispensaries are all illegal.

Municipalities and police forces are struggling to figure out what to do. Most dispensaries say they serve medical marijuana patients, and screen customers to make sure they have a medical condition. Medical marijuana is legal in Canada, but only if purchased from producers licensed by Health Canada, who send the products by mail.

The federal government has promised to introduce legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in the spring. It’s not known whether selling marijuana in stores will be allowed. The government has promised to “strictly regulate” sales to keep pot out of the hands of children and away from organized crime.

In the meantime, it’s become a free-for-all. Federal politicians warn that products sold at the illegal dispensaries are unregulated, and may be unsafe.  

It’s up to police to enforce the drug laws. In some cities, including Toronto, Quebec City, Barrie, Oshawa, Whitby and Peterborough and parts of B.C., police have raided the dispensaries. Employees and owners have been charged with drug trafficking and other offences. In Vancouver, police have chosen not to raid the shops unless there is evidence the operators are selling to minors or connected to organized crime.

There is widespread confusion, with many people assuming the dispensaries are legal. 

Orléans mom Zayat, who says she has sympathy for people who use medical marijuana, became upset when she learned the shop was operating illegally.  “This is just crazy, what’s happening. This is supposed to be a good country. 

“This is really scary. It’s making me sick,” she said, bursting into tears.

The CannaGreen store contains little more than a display case and an ATM machine. Most of the front window is shaded so passersby can’t see what is going on inside. Sales are cash only. 

The Citizen observed recently as a dozen customers made purchases. Several displayed a “membership card” from Green Tree, a related Ottawa dispensary. A couple of middle-aged people discussed their medical conditions with the clerk.

Three new customers, men who looked to be in their 20s, were asked for ID to prove they were 19, then filled out a form containing their name and address. The clerk gave them “temporary” membership cards, and explained that a doctor would contact them sometime in the next five months for a Skype interview to discuss their medical conditions, after which they would be given a permanent card with their photograph on it. In the meantime, they could shop.

The men discussed the percentage of THC (the chemical component that makes you high) in the cookies, brownies and candy, which look professionally packaged and carry the brand names Canna Co. and Mary’s. One man was delighted to receive a $5 discount on his $20 cannabis cookie because it was broken. 

The cookie contained 260 mg of THC — according to the label, anyway. The products are all obtained from the black market. The man was impressed. “I’ve had one with 100 mg and it was strong!”

“We recommend cutting it into two or three pieces,” the clerk advised.

Most of the dried weed, with names like Death Bubba, Rockstar and Love Potion, is $14 a gram. The clerk weighed it on a small scale and stuffed it into baggies.

A spokesperson for CannaGreen could not be contacted. CannaGreen is affiliated with other dispensaries that have opened in Ottawa since the summer called Green Tree and Wee Medical. Email requests sent to all three companies were not returned.

The man who answered the phone Wednesday at the number listed on the CannaGreen website identified himself as Justin, said he was too busy to talk, and promised to call back later. “I’m about to hop on a plane.” He did not call back, or answer a message left on Thursday.

Staff at several of the Green Tree and Wee Medical dispensaries have said they are not allowed to give out information about who owns and manages the shops, but they are based in B.C.

Only one parent interviewed was not alarmed about the CannaGreen shop. The man, who declined to give his name, said he would prefer that medical marijuana is sold in pharmacies. But instead of presenting the CannaGreen shop as a “draconian, bad” thing to his 10-year-old son, he explained what marijuana is, and that it will soon be legal for adults. “It’s coming, whether we like it or not,” he said.

The situation is probably similar to the end of Prohibition, when some reacted with horror to the sale of liquor, he said. “If someone opened an LCBO (in the building) would we have the same issue we are having today? Do I see someone out here in the back (parking lot) smoking marijuana? No.”