Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

The new cannabis store on Industrial Road in the Marwell area allows 12 people in the sales room.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Products for sale include some vapourizers and pot grinders.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Security is prevalant, and includes barred windows and lots of cameras.

Pot store opens, but online site not live on time

Starting late this morning,

By Palak Mangat on October 17, 2018

Starting late this morning, Yukoners were finally able to get their hands on recreational cannabis products at the sole government-run retail cannabis store or online at CannabisYukon.org, months after the federal government announced it would legalize marijuana.

While the physical store opened as scheduled at 11 a.m., the website CannabisYukon.org redirected visitors to the Yukon Liquor Corp.’s (YLC’s) webpage – meaning online consumers were left waiting about an hour or so for the site to go up.

Patch Groenewegen, a YLC spokesperson, confirmed late this morning that the site had not gone live until shortly after noon.

“What’s happening is we’re running into some technical challenges,” Groenewegen said.

She could not speak to whether it was linked to demand or traffic to the site in time for this afternoon’s press deadline.

The territory’s store, operated out of the Marwell area at 120B Industrial Rd., opened to media Tuesday morning for tours and a sneak peak of the site ahead of its official public opening today.

The site will host more than 30 strains of about 120 products.

Despite a shortage in supply that saw the YLC receive less than half of its anticipated stock in time for the big day, officials remain optimistic that it will still meet demand for the coming days.

“We do have an ample supply,” said Steve Cummings, the YLC’s director of operations. (The corporation will operate the store before eventually shutting it down to make way for private retailers).

Flanked by product samples enclosed in glass cases, he explained that because this is unchartered territory for much of the country, it is difficult to predict the purchasing patterns for customers.

“We’re not sure if there will be four people or 400 out there,” he said, before adding that from what he’s heard around town, it’ll likely be closer to the hundred mark.

“Maybe – it depends on how much is going to be purchased,” Cummings added shortly after saying the supply would be enough to hold the corporation for a couple of days.

“We don’t know what we’ll sell (today), so that’s going to be a bit of a challenge as well.”

In fact, he suspects it will take the corporation well into the new year after the holiday season before it can begin accurately predicting Yukoners’ cannabis purchasing habits.

“Nothing will stabilize until probably after January,” he said as he showed media product samples around the store. “We’d love to be able to publish number, but it’s the roll of a dice.”

While the site will host products priced as low as $8 per gram from the outset, YLC president Matt King told the Star Tuesday morning that some may cost even lower at $6.17 per gram – once the corporation eventually receives all of its anticipated shipment.

That’s because it hasn’t received all of the 200 kilograms it had hoped to get by today – rather, about 40 per cent of the 200 kilograms had been received as of Tuesday morning.

King said the corporation was receiving products regularly and would continue to do so as the week progressed.

Cummings echoed this, noting that orders had just been delivered by Whistler Cannabis Company that morning – just one of the YLC’s eight confirmed suppliers.

Among the other federally-licensed producers are: Tilray/High Park, Canopy Growth/Tweed, Broken Coast, Aphria, Aurora, Zenabis and Canna Farms.

King explained that only one of the suppliers had fulfilled its initial commitment to providing a full order in time for today. A corporation spokesperson confirmed this morning that inventory had been received from all eight producers.

The physical store itself will remain off-limits to those under 19, and sales associates will be able to deny selling products to anyone believed to be intoxicated.

Purchases will be limited to 30 grams at a time, but Yukoners will be able to grow up to four plants in their household (not four per individual, an official clarified).

Walking into the site, customers will be first greeted by a reception area. Cummings explained that will help ensure those intoxicated or underage will not be able to see the products.

“It’s a bit of crowd control as well,” he said, noting that there is a full team of sales associates ready for today.

“There will be no hands-on products, so there will be a sales associate who will be assisting customers in their purchase,” he added, noting that would result in a lot of face-to-face sales time with trained staff.

“Some staff have had extensive experience in the product over the years, but not necessarily from a legal aspect,” he said. “That all changes (today).”

King added that some staff have also come over from the government’s liquor store, so they’re familiar with some of the retail systems in place. Others have medical and recreational experience with cannabis.

All staff have had criminal record history checks done and gone through a vetting process with online training modules and classroom sessions.

“So staff have been steeped in product knowledge and the law and health side of it as well over the last several days,” King said.

Looking around the site, Cummings explained there are a number of security measures in place – complete with cameras, alarms and other controls.

“It’s a very heavily-secured industry – much more so than we’ve had in tobacco and liquor,” he said. Products will remain behind counters with the seven or eight staff members on hand to take orders, he added.

There will also be one security person at the site, with the YLC limiting about 12 people in the reception area and 12 in the retail space to keep things flowing.

Once the sales become a bit more predictable into the new year, Cummings explained, there will be about four to five staff on average.

“It’s pretty much a wait-and-see with respect to staffing and product demand.”

Asked about the 1,500-square-foot site’s marketing strategy and chic appearance, King explained that staff were able to look at other medical dispensaries across areas in B.C. and Ontario as models.

“This space is really about education and making sure people have the information available to them on the health side and keeping it legal framework,” he said. He referenced monitor screens that will play multimedia facts about cannabis as customers tour and peruse the site.

The pricing scheme, meanwhile, shows that products will be available from three tiers: value, core and premium. Value products will start at just over $6.

“We don’t have those products in stock on day one but they are ordered and committed to us,” King said.

The value category will see items up to $10 with the majority of products falling in the core category of $10 to $15 range, before hitting the premium quality products at $15 and up.

As of today, the YLC will have products ranging from $8 and up, before it begins receiving other deliveries.

“We certainly have a lot of products on order that we haven’t seen yet,” King added. Some jurisdictions have hit less than 30 per cent of their contractual commitments from licensed producers (the Yukon has got about 40 per cent so far).

Receiving deliveries has been a challenge, Cummings said, echoing King.

“People are telling us they’re shipping 30 different products and we get four,” he sighed. “It’s a little bit of a disappointment, but I think we’ll have a good selection of product” to carry the corporation into at least the first couple days.

Nodding, King said other jurisdictions where suppliers are servicing private retailers right off the hop may experience more shortages than government-run store orders.

“Some predict shortages for a whole year, others think it’ll level out sooner,” he said, adding the corporation will begin forecasting with producers as soon as possible.

For his part, Cummings suspects the products will be flying off the shelves, even if moderately so.

“I don’t think we’ll have a lot of products sitting around very long,” he smiled, adding he’s heard shelf-life can go up to 18 months or two years depending on the product.

“It’s brand new, nobody’s testing it,” he said, noting the YLC expects to keep a close eye on its shelf-life the same way it does with liquor.

The website, which went live today shortly after noon, will also invite the visitor to make three declarations: stating that they are at least 19 years of age, not intoxicated and agree to the site’s terms and conditions.

Providing a brief rundown of the site Tuesday, Scott Westerlaken, the YLC’s marketing and social responsibility co-ordinator, added that the homepage centres around ensuring that people know the risks linked to cannabis use.

“We can describe the taste, the smell and possibly its background,” he said. The government remains limited in what information it can provide to visitors on the product page, especially with respect to health impacts as it can impact consumers differently, he added.

Asked about what the government was doing to prepare for anticipated demand on the website this morning, a Department of Highways and Public Works (HPW) spokesperson explained that tests were being done frequently.

“We don’t have good numbers, we have no history,” said Sean McLeish, an assistant deputy minister of information and communications technology with HPW.

“But we’ve done a number of calculations and put in infrastructure that we think can handle the load.”

The department was unable to verify in time for today’s publication what the technical difficulty was a result of.

It was conducting load tests as recently as Tuesday morning, McLeish added, as Cummings noted that online orders will be fulfilled out of the YLC’s distribution center that acts as the cannabis warehouse.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, John Streicker, the minister responsible for the YLC, reiterated the government’s intention of the store remaining in its hands temporarily.

“We will certainly be shutting down our own business once the private retail of cannabis is established,” he told the legislature in response to Yukon Party interim leader Stacey Hassard’s question of exactly how long the government expects to be in charge of selling cannabis.

Hassard also pressed the minister on the length of the lease for the physical store. He noted the space is being repurposed from an existing lease to the HPW.

Groenewegen confirmed this morning that the lease HPW has with the landlord will expire in December 2019.

Streicker also mentioned that renovations and improvements to the store came with a price-tag of about $400,000.

Comments (16)

Up 10 Down 0

Groucho d'North on Oct 22, 2018 at 1:41 pm

Here is a letter I wrote to the editor back on Nov. 5 2010, I think it still applies:

Mankind has been searching for new ways to get a buzz since we fell out of the trees millennia ago. As soon as we discovered that fruit fermented and produced alcohol, we have sought numerous ways and recipes to make it cheaper, faster and in some cases – better tasting – but the buzz is the most important part for many.

Why we drink is as diverse as what there is to drink. Feeling good or feeling bad - its ok to mark the occasion with a drink. Winning or losing - it's ok to celebrate with a drink. Proud individual or suffering from personal issues - have a drink. Some drink to forget, some to reminisce. When you sober up, your problems will still be there, perhaps even larger than before.

Race does not matter as self-abuse is not limited to one type of human, nor is determined by where they live, what school they went to, or what their net declared income was last year. Substance abuse impacts all within our communities and society, from the lawyers and executives to the street people- each have their favorite buzz, usually determined by how much they can afford to spend on their personal little sin substance. From the homemade bathtub gin to the Bolivian marching powder - there’s something for everyone.

It is a human condition to want to put the real world on pause for a bit and let the mind wander or park in a delusional haze for a time. The Demon Rum and all the recreational drugs help mankind to get there. Trouble is, many don’t want to return to the real world. Take a good look around, there are many reasons some are looking to disconnect from the real world these days.

Up 2 Down 8

Doug Ryder on Oct 22, 2018 at 9:55 am

Psychology Today
Cannabis Use Disorders Are Skyrocketing in the United States
6 million Americans have marijuana use disorders; few addicts receive treatment.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201603/cannabis-use-disorders-are-skyrocketing-in-the-united-states%3famp

Up 5 Down 9

Doug Ryder on Oct 20, 2018 at 9:43 pm

@ Juniper Jackson - Great question - Why does recreation require and altered state of mind through either drugs or alcohol?
@ Josey Wales - You are right if I take your meaning correctly. The extreme religiosity of the potheads is a blind faith following - Many choose not to see or believe anything contrary to their faith.

There are some however who may not be fully indoctrinated into the counterculture narrative - HighTimes.
Stoned driving is impaired driving and stoned pregnant and nursing mothers equals THC affected foetuses and babies. We can now widen the scope of neuro-affected people in our society - Yay us!

It is interesting to hear individuals talk about freedoms as if marijuana were some pinnacle achievement in civil liberties. The self-indulgent act of intoxication is not freedom and in the current regime of legalization I am baffled by any such parallel assertion.
So called legalization is a net-widening scheme for criminal justice involvement and revenue generation in the form of both overt and covert taxation.
You would have to be some sort of special not to see that coming and perhaps more so not to think that it matters.

Up 6 Down 1

Joseum Wales on Oct 20, 2018 at 6:07 pm

That should have read Amanita which I think is the genus for the divine mushroom if my spelling is correct.
There is no magical drug for after all a drug is a drug.

Enjoy it but do not drive impaired.

Up 6 Down 4

Joseum Wales on Oct 20, 2018 at 1:59 pm

Doug Ryder

Your pot driving campaign will not get much traction in a comments section. There are far too many people with an almost religious misguided fever for pot benefits. Sure it has medical benefits but we all know about it's darker side.

Hundreds of years ago people worshiped a mushroom with a red cap and white spots, Amanda the magic mushroom or should I say the manic mushroom. Modern society has not progressed much and with the prohibition lifted people can now have free access to a drug.

Up 7 Down 2

Juniper Jackson on Oct 19, 2018 at 11:03 pm

As I am so popular anyway, I thought I'd weigh in on this one....it's pretty funny the stoners and potheads coming out of the closet now that it's legal.. I don't use..don't drink either..I like to have my mind as clear as it can be at my age.. and speaking of..I drive that way to go home and a glance at the line up? There was more grey heads out there than any thing else I noticed! I come from the era of weed.. 60s, 70s.. early 80s.. Arthur Fonzerelli was king! As long as I don't have to pay for it.. folks do whatever they want to do.. (yeah..I hate paying for welfare booze and cigarettes..and now probably pot). My question would be.. recreational drugs, either liquor or drugs.. why do people think they need drugs for recreation?

Up 21 Down 0

Jim Cleaver on Oct 19, 2018 at 11:28 am

Congratulations to the opening of the new pot store. I’m sure it will see plenty of traffic. But really; $400,000 to renovate a leased area for just over a year? I’m sure when private retailers take over sales, their renovation budgets will pale in comparison. There seems to be no limit to what YTG can spend on these types of projects. If this is a true example of what building costs in the Yukon, then an average house should cost about a million. Oh wait, when YTG builds them it does.

Up 8 Down 0

BnR on Oct 19, 2018 at 7:45 am

PSG, just bringing some levity, not judgement. Maybe one could say BeernR?
I don't use, but each to their own. Cheers.

Up 5 Down 11

Doug Ryder on Oct 18, 2018 at 10:04 pm

@ Ilove Parks - That must have been you in the next isle then? I don’t see a lot of other people drinking lattes in the liquor store.
I was in there trying to get the creative juices flowing for my anti-marijuana impaired driving campaign. The freed weed has placed a spotlight on impaired driving more generally. Probable cause out the window like a lit joint at a road side stop.

What about the FN? How will they get their cut? Will there be different laws for Reserves and Traditional FN territories? No Snow-White kush on category A lands but you can have Northern-Red kush on both category A & B lands.

Transporting weed from Canada to a First Nation will be punishable by both Canadian and Aboriginal law.

Up 3 Down 2

ProScience Greenie on Oct 18, 2018 at 1:18 pm

Good one BnR and your about 50% correct so thumbs up.

Up 11 Down 3

BnR on Oct 18, 2018 at 6:49 am

So now we know what the "greenie" in pro science greenie represented....
Lol!

Up 14 Down 11

Ilove Parks on Oct 17, 2018 at 11:22 pm

It's shameful, a place where you can buy a drug that makes you impaired and can give you lung cancer.
I was planning to protest the opening of this pot store but had to buy a case of beer and also needed a latte.

Up 5 Down 3

The dude on Oct 17, 2018 at 11:01 pm

Pretty disappointed by the variety of product and the prices certainly won’t dampen the black market prices which are significantly lower.
I’ll continue to use online suppliers.

Up 19 Down 7

Simon on Oct 17, 2018 at 4:24 pm

Who cares if the website launch was delayed for an hour. I'm still in disbelief that our government was actually able to do this and only miss the delivery date by 60 minutes. These things aren't easy to build and ship.

The e-commerce site works great. I'll celebrate with a...beer.

Up 13 Down 26

The_Even-Bigger_Lebowski on Oct 17, 2018 at 3:57 pm

Like, take a look inside man, it's just so sweet, the glass, the paneling, the lighting, the lines are just so smooth man. Sweet. It like a trip man, like psychedelic dude, my mind just follows the lines man, the flow, it all so cosmic. In fact it karmic man. Like Buddha said, you know, he who can toke it can take it, man, like to the next level man. Cool. I feel like am being totally reincarnated as a gastro-intestinal worm man, so I can descend to the next level, to the bottom of a bottle of tequila. Peace. Like where can I get some munchies man?

Up 19 Down 16

ProScience Greenie on Oct 17, 2018 at 3:13 pm

Nice store. Great staff. A fun time waiting in line with fellow freedom loving Yukoners. All good.

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