July Issue #129
Written by: Kyle W. Penn
Celebrating
the End of Prohibition…Again!
Keep an Eye Out for The
GreenEasy, Opening This October in Strathmore
October 17, 2018 is a date that looms large on
calendars across the country: it officially marks the end of the prohibition of
cannabis, almost 100 years after it was first outlawed in Canada on April 23,
1923. This historical legislative change is set to usher in unprecedented
change and opportunity throughout the nation – including right here, in our own
community! Enter Wes Breault and Bill Evans – co-owners of local general
contracting company All Decked Out and entrepreneurs extraordinaire – who are
aiming to pioneer the way forward for the cannabis industry in Strathmore with
the opening of one of the town’s first recreational dispensaries. But how did
two local Strathmorites specializing in general contracting get in on the
ground floor of legalization? I sat down with Bill and Wes to find out.
“When Bill first brought me onboard at All Decked Out,
we decided that whatever we were
going to do, from here on out, we were going to do together. We just work well
with each other,” Wes began. “So, after about a year, a tradeshow came up for
franchises, and one of the franchises on offer was for home inspections. This
sounded like a great opportunity to help us off more services to the community.
When we got there, though, we saw that there were two franchises for cannabis
retailers. And we thought: hmmmm.” Wes was already a medical patient using
cannabis – he’d injured his shoulder, and his doctor had prescribed it to
help him manage the pain. Bill, however, has a very different background when
it comes to his experience with the drug.
“When I was young, I played with it,
and I got something that was laced with something else – they figure it
was PCP. I was paralyzed for two days, in a truck at minus 30 in November,
coming in and out of consciousness. So, I never touched it again…and that was
over 20 years ago.” It seems hard to imagine that someone with this sort of an
experience with cannabis could end up being first in line to open a dispensary
– but a pivotal event occurred in Bill’s life that altered his outlook
completely.
“What changed my mind was a dear
friend of ours who passed away from cancer,” Bill reflected. “It was a terrible
loss for everyone who knew her. She was one of the most straight-laced people
you’d ever meet, and she used cannabis strictly as a medicine – and it immensely
improved her quality of life. Cannabis allowed her to manage her symptoms
without having to rely on opioids, and that changed a lot of things for me. A
lot of my previous misconceptions were dismissed.”
With the wheels in motion and both
business partners onboard, it was time to do a bit of market research. “That’s
when we decided to take a trip to Colorado,” Wes told me, “the birthplace of
recreational. So, last November, that’s what we did – and we had an
amazing time. The dispensaries are everywhere, but there’s no consumption
allowed outside, so we never saw anybody smoking out in the streets
– everyone was very respectful of the local rules and regulations.”
“What an education!” Bill chimed in.
“Everyone was very kind, very open, and very professional. I had this
misconception that we’d be running into that very stereotypical “stoner” type
of person everywhere we went, and I didn’t get that once. I was actually a
little disappointed! Everyone was so knowledgeable, and from all walks of life
– from every industry, income bracket, and background. It was clear
legalization was doing great things – particularly for the local economy,
which continues to grow by leaps and bounds. They’re using money from cannabis
sales and taxation to do all sorts of things. They’re building brand-new
freeways – that’s billions of dollars of infrastructure being facilitated
by this new legislation.”
“Even wages in general have
changed,” Wes agreed. “There was a commercial while we were down there advertising
a grocery warehouse job starting at $17.50/hour, moving up to $24/hour. It’s
wild!”
“Not only that, but keep in mind too
that crime went down in relation to legalization,” Bill added. “I think a big
part of that is because economic opportunities absolutely exploded when they
changed the laws. People started making more money, which led to them spending
more money, and so it really impacted not only every industry, but the entire
economy across the state.”
“To top it all off,” Wes concluded, “while
we were down there, I got a Twitter message stating that Alberta had decided to
go private with their legislation, so it was perfect. It was a great trip, and
everything really just lined up and fell into place for us.”
Enthusiastically returning home from
their fact-finding mission to Colorado, Wes and Bill began to further work on
their plans to open their own dispensary here in Strathmore, which is currently
on-track to celebrate its first day of business in step with nation-wide
legalization, on October 17.
“We’re calling it The GreenEasy,” Bill
told me, pride in his voice. “We’re going after the 1920’s motif of the
speak-easy, and that’s what the look of the store’s going to be based around.
There’s going to be a big art-deco influence, English bartender-style dress
code – all that fun stuff. You’re not going to walk into a hospital-type
setting that’s clinical and cold; it’s going to edgy, it’s going to be fun.”
“We’re celebrating the abolishment
of prohibition again,” Wes embellished. “That’s the angle: why was it illegal
for so long? It didn’t make sense…and then all of a sudden, it’s legal again!
They’re starting slow, we’re only allowed to sell certain things at first –
flower, some extracts, oils, tinctures, and paraphernalia. But it’s moving in
the right direction, and change is happening.”
Of course, while the abolishment of
the prohibition of alcohol mostly just meant that people could have a bit more
fun on their Friday night out, the legalization of cannabis brings with it a
whole slew of positive, life-changing benefits. “We’re really trying to move
away from terms like ‘pot’ and ‘weed’ – we prefer the more legitimate term
‘cannabis,’” Wes stressed. “Likewise, it’s ‘flower,’ not ‘buds.’ With
legalization, this plant is going to be able to help manage so many ailments by
both supplementing treatments and offering an alternative that allows for the
use of fewer traditional pharmaceuticals – especially within the
rapidly-growing geriatric population. It’s a game-changer.”
However, with big changes like
federal legalization, there’s always a period of adaptation and adjustment.
Cannabis has been outlawed for nearly 100 years, after all – and even longer in
the States, where it remains a Schedule I Controlled Substance, in the same
category as heroine and LSD. Attitudes seem to be changing quickly, though, and
the stigma around cannabis is rapidly fading into the annals of history.
“For the most part, I don’t think
we’ve really run into any negative attitudes,” Bill related to me. “And we’ve
been really open about telling people what we’re doing! We want everyone to
know that it’s us behind this: two local Strathmorites who are a part of this
community. If we’re not standing behind what we’re doing, taking care of people
properly, and being up front and honest, then there’s no point. Any stigma we
run into, we can address through education and engagement. We welcome those
sorts of conversations, because they’re only beneficial in the long run.”
Location is still a bit up in the
air as the Town works to nail down local legislation, but keep a look-out for
The GreenEasy, coming to Strathmore this October, and get ready to celebrate
the abolishment of prohibition…again!
Kyle W. Penn
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