Another cannabis dispensary has been given the green light by the government to operate in Williams Lake.
Daily Stash Cannabis Ltd. will be the fourth cannabis store in the lakecity and is set to open its doors Feb. 1, said owner Roy Buxbaum.
“We’re excited. Everyone on our team is excited,” Buxbaum said this week after receiving approval from the Liquor and Cannabis Regulatory Branch.
“We are really looking forward to educating the public on the benefits of cannabis.”
For the past 17 years Buxbaum and his wife Evelyn have owned and operated Good Guys Gardening, an indoor gardening centre located at 250 Mackenzie Avenue.
When cannabis became legal in October, 2018, Buxbaum applied to the City to open a cannabis retail store. He received approval from the City of Williams Lake right away, but has been waiting for approval from the provincial government following months of rigorous security and financial integrity checks.
Read More: Puff, puff, pass: Cannabis is officially legal across Canada
“I was shocked how deep they went,” he said. “The government wants to ensure cannabis retail store owners have no affiliation or connection to organized crime. It’s very regulated.”
Buxbaum admits there is still a stigma associated with buying or selling cannabis. For example, several banks have turned away his business when they learned he was going to open a cannabis retail store.
But times are slowly changing.
“We’re basically coming to the end of cannabis prohibition,” Buxbaum said.
“We are the cold beer and wine store of cannabis sales. Legally, there is no difference between the two.”
Buxbaum said he has long been an advocate of the benefits of cannabis, with his knowledge even being tapped by Cariboo Chilcotin Elder College last fall to teach a full class of seniors about the benefits of the plant and how to grow it.
Buxbaum said his license for the Daily Stash is purely for a non-medical cannabis retail store. Under the licensing Buxbaum and his staff can give no medical advice regarding cannabis or he will face stiff fines.
Additionally, as part of the tight regulations, Buxbaum cannot operate his indoor gardening store in the same building as the cannabis retail store. Feb. 1, 2019 Buxbaum purchased the old Acklands Grainger building two doors down on 284 Mackenzie Avenue South and has since moved Good Guys Gardening into that building, and will operate the Daily Stash out of the original Good Guys building.
The Daily Stash will sell both THC and CBD products as well as glass and smoking accessories.
Buxbaum and his wife have four young children and one on the way. They believe in being charitable and have collected warm winter clothes for the past several years and donated to local non-profits such as the Salvation Army, Cariboo Friendship Centre, Boys and Girls Club of Williams Lake and District and elementary schools.
“The new business will allow us to contribute even more to the community. We believe in giving back.”
Buxbaum currently has some staff and is looking for more to fill 14 part-time and full-time positions.
He said the store will be open seven days a week, 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. and will be under 24-hour security surveillance as well as have a night watchman on site.
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