No word on Oshawa’s pot shop

By Dave Flaherty/The Oshawa Express

One month after cannabis retail stores were given the green light to open in Ontario, the doors to Oshawa’s location remain closed.

Fabulous Leaf, owned by Vaughan-based company Tripsetter Inc., received one of 25 licenses via lottery, and selected 575 Laval Drive, the Walmart plaza near the Stevenson Road-Highway 401 exchange, as its preferred location.

But as of the first week of May, the store remains one of three yet to be issued an operating license by the province.

Store owner Jacob Stevens told The Oshawa Express it was a “week-to-week” process and they were still going through the final preparations to receive a license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
As part of the application process, companies selected in the lottery were required to put up a $50,000 letter of credit.

Stores that did not open by April 1 faced a penalty of $12,500 from the letter of credit, followed by a similar fine if not open by April 15.

The first penalty was waived in Fabulous Leaf’s case because the store hadn’t opened due to reasons out of the applicant’s control.

However, the company was penalized for not being open by April 15.

Stores that were still not open by April 30 could stand to potentially lose the entire $50,000 letter of credit, but an AGCO spokesperson said this measure is under review with a decision expected during the week.