Cannabis retailers in Vernon, BC, say they have seen an increase in new customers in the days following recent raids of several unlicensed stores operating just outside city limits.
Provincial inspectors recently closed down a handful of unlicensed cannabis stores operating on Okanagan Indian Band Land near Vernon over a few days at the end of October. Although those stores have reportedly now reopened, some owners and managers at licensed retail shops in the Vernon area say they saw an increase in new customers following those temporary closures.
“Yes we have seen an increase in customers, especially new customers,” says Sarah Ballantyne, the owner of Spiritleaf Vernon. Ballantyne says her store even had to place a larger weekly order to respond to this increased demand.
She says she has seen similar cycles of new customers following other enforcement actions in the past, which can ebb and flow depending on how fast the raided stores restock and re-open.
“We go through this every once in a while when it happens. It can be a bit of a rollercoaster, but we get restocked every Thursday.” Lower-priced ounces, she notes, have been in particular demand.
Lance Ashlin-Mayo, the manager at Lucid Cannabis in Vernon, says he’s seen a similar increase, if only briefly.
Read the full article at StratCann
