Business is steady at the newly opened Original FARM and Cloud Nine Collective cannabis dispensaries despite the fact that, due to federal and provincial laws, neither business could do much promotion or hold any kind of celebration that would be considered “entertaining” – meaning no food or music.
Regardless, new customers are discovering the locations and regulars are returning after the April 15 grand opening of both sites.
WATCH: Two cannabis dispensaries legally open in Victoria
“A lot of people don’t know that we’re open, but we’ve been getting a lot of phone calls,” said Brandon Arsens, owner at Cloud Nine Collective at 778 Fort St. “But so far things have been going quite well, no hiccups at all. The clientele have been good and we’re picking up into regular business.”
So far the most popular items at Cloud Nine have been dried flower buds.
“It’s been quite a mix of everything; the bud sales are good and people seem to be enjoying the capsules and tinctures,” Arsens said.
Down at The Original FARM at 1402 Douglas St. things have also been steady.
“It’s been fantastic, good energy with the customers,” said Allan Lingwood, head of compliance at FARM. “Everyone is happy that we’re open and back to it.”
ALSO READ: Victoria cannabis dispensary comes to display agreement with heritage committee
The most popular product at FARM so far has been a CBD spray with low THC levels, something that Lingwood said is hard to come by through the province.
“A few customers are disappointed with the lack of vape pens or oils, and CBD products. Some have turned out and walked away, most likely to support black market, until those are available,” he said. “But, we’ve noticed a lot of new faces, so the people who’ve been waiting for a legal shop to open up are making up the void of people looking elsewhere.”
In the meantime, FARM will continue to give the province feedback about offering more products.
“That being said, we’ve got 60 different strains to choose from and 300 unique product types, so a lot of variety for our first order and first day,” Lingwood said. “That will only increase in the months to come. I’m looking forward to edibles and other products becoming available later this year.”
Both shops anticipate a busy Saturday, April 20, also known as 4/20, a celebratory day to smoke cannabis. Throughout the day at both businesses Aurora Cannabis and Canopy Growth will be on site to provide detailed education on cannabis to customers.
Send a Tweet: @NicoleCrescenzi
Like us on Facebook Â
