Lake Country害羞草研究所檚 second cannabis retail store is up and running, and it害羞草研究所檚 looking to boost the regulated market locally and beyond.
Dutch Love Cannabis opened its doors Wednesday (Nov. 18) in the Village Centre on Main Street.
Harrison Stoker, vice president of brand at Donnelly Group (Dutch Love害羞草研究所檚 parent company), said he害羞草研究所檚 excited to have a new retail store open just a stone害羞草研究所檚 throw from Kelowna, where Dutch Love became the city害羞草研究所檚 first regulated cannabis store last summer.
害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檝e got a lot of really good local producer relationships in the Okanagan,害羞草研究所� Stoker said. 害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e especially excited to have another outlet to be able to service the Okanagan population, to effectively buy the cannabis that害羞草研究所檚 grown in their back yard.害羞草研究所�
It害羞草研究所檚 the company害羞草研究所檚 19th retail store in Canada and the sixth to crop up in B.C. As Lake Country council heard , the company is committed to working with other regulated stores to combat the illicit cannabis market.
That endeavour starts with modernizing the regulated market: Dutch Love has been lobbying the provincial government to equip the cannabis market with retail features like online shipping and delivery.
害羞草研究所淔eatures which I think today, from a consumer perspective, we kind of take for granted,害羞草研究所� Stoker said. 害羞草研究所淲ith Amazon and online e-commerce and the stuff that already exists, it害羞草研究所檚 crazy to think in 2020 you can害羞草研究所檛 have that same accessibility and convenience in cannabis retail.害羞草研究所�
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Dutch Love has said it will work with Lake Country Cannabis 害羞草研究所� the district害羞草研究所檚 other legal pot shop 害羞草研究所� to tackle the grey market.
害羞草研究所淥ur position is combating the illicit market shouldn害羞草研究所檛 necessarily be entirely incumbent upon the province. As a collective, regulated retail coalition we can really help out quite a bit if we害羞草研究所檙e less constrained by these prohibitions.害羞草研究所�
The company is also helping online cannabis aggregators like Weedmaps and Leafly to legitimize their revenue streams and move away from grey-market products.
Dutch Love worked with Leafly through the legalization period to build a revenue model that doesn害羞草研究所檛 rely on illicit products. Stoker said Leafly has since expunged all illicit products from their website, and Weedmaps is on the same path.
害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e now very actively starting to strip out illicit operations, which is great, and they害羞草研究所檝e committed to us vocally that by the end of the year they will fully turn the corner and only be hosting regulated retail on their websites,害羞草研究所� Stoker said.
There are relatively fewer grey-market options in the Lake Country area compared to Vancouver, where the company operates four stores. For those in Lake Country who frequent the so-called 害羞草研究所淕reen Mile害羞草研究所� along Westside Road, Stoker says the regulated store can offer services the grey market can害羞草研究所檛.
害羞草研究所淥ne thing that we can offer is safe, dependable, accurately labelled products that are regulated by Health Canada,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淎nd I think we have a customer experience that is perhaps challenging for the illicit market to mirror.害羞草研究所�
Dutch Love has also partnered with Lake Country Food Bank to donate 10 per cent of proceeds earned from the Lake Country store害羞草研究所檚 first month.
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