Kelly Csada has been operating Kelz, a medicinal marijuana dispensary, since August 2016. It appears her business will have to change significantly in the near future as the Regina Police Service (RPS) take a hard line on dispensaries.
Bray announced Wednesday that the RPS will be contacting all dispensaries in Regina to inform them of the law. If they don’t comply, Bray said enforcement is an option. He said the RPS have been talking with Crown prosecutors.
“Selling cannabis from a store front is not legal. Period,” Bray said.
“Anyone with a prescription for medicinal marijuana has a process to fill their prescriptions. Walking into a store and purchasing it over the counter is not currently a legal option.”
READ MORE: Regina police want to put an end to marijuana dispensaries
At Kelz customers can do just that. Csada said she operates a “tight ship” and ensures all customers have valid prescriptions.
If contacted by police, Csada said she will comply, but that does not mean Kelz will close.
“I will still be here for any patient that walks through the door; still doing patient counselling. Pointing them in the direction of a doctor so they can get a prescription so that they can start that paper work if need be,” Csada said.
“If you don’t have a fixed address, if you don’t have a credit card or if you don’t know how to work a computer, God forbid, and a lot of these elderly people don’t even have one in their homes. That is not reasonable for patients,” Csada said.
READ MORE: Police hope Saskatoon’s illegal pot dispensaries voluntarily close
At the Regina branch of Best Buds Society, owner Pat Warnecke said he is prepared to go to court in an effort continue operations.
“We’re going to be fighting as much as we can to stay open. We’ll be talking to lawyers and talking to different politicians as we have to,” he said.
The Regina branch of Best Buds Society has been in operation since 2015. Two other locations are in Saskatoon. Warnecke said they have nearly 10,000 patients.
Warnecke cited a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that dictates people have reasonable access to medicinal marijuana if prescribed.
“We have a lot of people that use suppositories, or use skin creams, or use other methods of using cannabis that the licensed producers simply don’t have,” he said.
“Not to mention it’s discriminatory because if you don’t have a credit card in your name, or a fixed address, you cannot get from a licensed producer.”
Both Warnecke and Csada argue a storefront is a better way to provide patient care so they can speak with someone directly and find a cannabis product that’s best suited for their medical need, similar to going to a pharmacy.
“People need to know what their medications are. They need the education, and so do our public officials,” Warnecke said.
Kelz and Best Buds Society will be looking into the province’s lottery system to receive one of the six licenses to establish recreational marijuana dispensaries in Regina. Csada sees it as a venue to continue to advocate for medicinal reform.
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