Cold Lake met their first possible recreational cannabis retailer, a Spiritleaf franchisee.
Danielle Normand sees potential in Cold Lake for a cannabis retail outlet, and she hopes to be one of the first stores to open their doors once the drug is legalized.
“I’m local to Cold Lake, so it makes sense for me to operate in this area,” Normand explained. “Council is very supportive, they’re very much aware that it’s going to be legal.”
Spiritleaf is an Alberta-based recreational cannabis retail franchise.
According to Normand, the company has sold over 100 franchises across western Canada.
It was the downturn in the oil and gas industry that drove Normand to start considering her options.
With the legalization of cannabis creeping up, she decided to get on board by investing in a recreational cannabis retail store.
She hopes by opening up shop, she will be able to offer local recreational cannabis users a safe place to purchase the drug.
From what she can tell, the community is either for or against the legalization of marijuana.
“As far as community concerns go, it’s really from one end of the spectrum to another. People either fully support it, or they don’t support it at all and they’re pushing for the government to change this policy altogether,” Normand expressed.
This is one of the reasons why she is struggling to lease a storefront location.
“I still haven’t secured a location, and I have found that there has been some resistance from local landlords as far as accepting cannabis retail stores goes,” said Normand. “Right now, that’s probably my largest barrier.”
In terms of city regulations, retail outlets have to meet a number of standards before they will be allowed to open their doors to the public.
Cold Lake council recently passed their land use bylaw regulating the sale of recreational cannabis within the municipality.
Under their bylaw, recreational cannabis retailers are required to be at least 100-metres from a school, park, public area, municipal or school reserve, daycare facility, and provincial healthcare centre, among others.
They must be in a free-standing building, and cannot share storage space, or a front entrance with another business.
“They’re pretty on par with what the Alberta regulations are, so there really are no surprises there,” expressed Normand. “It’s so new, and it’s such a new process.”
Mayor Craig Copeland said it was “nice to see an entrepreneur” attend council to publicly talk about opening up a store in Cold Lake.
“Looking at the store design, it’s going to be pretty nice. Cannabis is going to be legal eventually here in Canada, so council has passed their policies on zoning. It’s going to be in front of us, so it’s great to have a business person present herself and let us know that she wants to be involved in the community and give back.”
