Cannabis café without the cannabis opening in Kelowna

Trent Kitsch is opening a new door to the cannabis industry in Kelowna.

He’s a major grower — all perfectly legal — and he’s also a facilitator.

Kitsch is opening up a shop at the old Bean Scene in downtown Kelowna where he won’t be selling cannabis but rather helping people who want it. A cannabis café without the cannabis — a first for Kelowna.

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“It’s definitely not a dispensary. The Doja Culture Café is a way for patients to legally access cannabis. We’re going to have cannabis nights for patients, discussions with doctors, things of that nature,” he said.

Make no mistake about it, Kitsch plans on jumping on the cannabis dispensary bandwagon when the B.C. provincial government decides which model to adopt.

The future of dispensaries in B.C. could go up in smoke if the province follows Ontario’s lead where that government has vowed to shut them down when pot becomes legal next July. Instead, Ontario wants cannabis users to get their marijuana from government-run stores. The B.C. government is still mulling over what direction it wants to take.

Meanwhile, people are already knocking on Kitsch’s door — two weeks prior to opening.

“Countless people have come in here daily, even though we haven’t opened the door officially, looking for this service.”