By Dominic Abassi

UPDATE: Pot shop beside kids martial arts studio closing after ‘media attention’

Oct 14, 2017 | 1:32 PM

NANAIMO — According to a post on Facebook, Canna Corner, the dispensary beside Skillz Nanaimo, will be closing their doors.

“Hey guys, due to the recent media attention we have no choice but to close our doors for a short while. Hopefully we will be open soon in a brand new location,” the Monday afternoon post said.

EARLIER:

The plight of a Nanaimo business owner shines a spotlight on the uncertainty many are facing as local governments play the waiting game on how to regulate the sale of marijuana.

Rebecca Stephens, owner of Skillz Nanaimo, said she has lost “dozens and dozens” of clients from her kids martial arts school since two marijuana businesses set up shop next door.

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“When your studio smells like weed for six months it doesn’t give the best message to new parents that don’t know us that well yet.”

Stephens operated at 109 Finlayson St. for five years and there were no dispensaries nearby when she moved in. More than half of her 280 students are children between the ages of three and 17.

Complaints from parents are a daily occurrence over the last six months, since a clone store and dispensary opened next door to her studio. She said people often stroll into the karate dojo looking for marijuana, also claiming parents have complained about being offered pot while picking up their children.

Stephens’ frustration however is not with the dispensary, its clients or the building’s landlord. She said she appreciates the value of medical marijuana and people’s right to access it. 

Her call is to the City of Nanaimo to create regulations clearly defining how close product can be sold to children.

“Especially higher risk youth, which is in our area. They’re already subjected to enough of that in their daily lives. They don’t need to have that when they come here.”

Barring a major change in direction, Stephens appears unlikely to get her wish. Nanaimo councillors have yet to be presented a staff report on options for regulation, despite asking for it nearly two years ago.

The City said they had no comment when contacted for this story and Stephens said she has heard nothing back from City staff.

More than once, mayor Bill McKay has voiced his approval of the City’s wait-and-see approach. Coun. Sheryl Armstrong said she is aware of Stephens’ concerns and forwarded them to RCMP.

Stephens said she has had dozens of phone calls with local police, who have told her it’s a grey area and they’re focusing on criminal behaviour.

Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Cst. Gary O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW they are always concerned when a dispensary is impacting the “lawful use of a property.”

“With this case we will look further into that and determine a course of action,” he said.

In February, RCMP raided a dispensary three days after it opened beside a Terminal Ave. daycare. They said others were “on notice” after a dispensary 500 metres away from Georgia Avenue Elementary was shut down in March.

When asked why she doesn’t just move her business, Stephens said she’s passionate about helping children right where she is.

“When we have an area like the south end of Nanaimo, we see a lot of people struggling with all sorts of addiction. I really feel having somewhere safe and welcoming for young kids to learn is really essential for this community.”

NanaimoNewsNOW spoke with the owner of the cannabis stores beside Skillz. He said he did not want his name printed or his comments put on the record, adding he felt there was a way people could coexist without regulations.

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi