City's preferred locations for weed stores 'reefer madness,' says local head shop

A local head shop owner says the city’s opposition to having retail cannabis stores on downtown Queen Street amounts to little more than ‘reefer madness.’

“I read it this morning and I was blown away,” said Julie Kerhanovich, co-owner of The Other Guys. “I couldn’t believe it.”

“What’s their problem with it?”

The Other Guys had plans to open a retail cannabis store next door to its existing business at 484 Queen Street East, but walked away from those plans, discouraged by Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) rules for last week’s retail licence lottery, which allotted 25 licences to businesses province-wide.

Now, the city wants to discourage cannabis retail stores from setting up shop along Queen Street East, and much of the downtown core - with the exception of a stretch of Wellington Street East between East Street and Elgin Street.   

Kerhanovich says that while relocation from the downtown core could be an option in the future, any current hopes that she may have had to launch a retail store on Queen Street have been pretty much dashed at this point. 

“It just blew my mind, and it reinforced my decision to back out,” she told SooToday. “Everybody is so backwards.”

The City of Sault Ste. Marie will be providing the AGCO with a map highlighting its preferred locations for retail cannabis stores.

Chief administrative officer Al Horsman - who has pledged to track applications for retail cannabis stores locally and advise AGCO on the municipality’s wishes - told council Monday that the city doesn’t have the final say on where retail cannabis stores can be located.

"It should be noted that these are only comments and AGCO can approve locations that are not consistent with City Council's requirements or comments," Horsman said in a report to Mayor Provenzano and councillors.

But Kerhanovich doesn’t see the logic in the city’s wishes to keep pot shops off of Queen Street East, pointing to the LCBO at the Station Mall and establishments serving alcohol in the downtown core.  

“It’s OK to have bars on Queen Street - they’re selling alcohol,” she said. “How come it’s not OK for a store to sell cannabis?”

“I don’t have answers, I have questions.”

Kerhanovich says that she may explore the idea of a retail cannabis store again once the ‘waters are a little more calm’ and more details are finalized - but for now, trying to open a retail store in Sault Ste. Marie is seen as too much of a risk by The Other Guys.

“Why don’t they want business downtown? I thought that’s what the downtown is all about - ‘let’s rejuvenate the downtown,’” said Kerhanovich.

The Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association was not available for comment.  

Ontario's first retail cannabis stores are slated to open Apr. 1.

- with files from David Helwig