The Cannabis store in Melfort was set to go by the name Hive Cannabis, and had an opening soon sign in the window. But SLGA says they haven't approved the storefront's permit. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)
Cannabis in Melfort

Future of retail cannabis store in Melfort up in the air

Jun 5, 2019 | 5:02 PM

It remains unclear when the retail cannabis shop in Melfort will open and what is causing the delay.

SLGA told northeastNOW in an email that it had “not issued a retail cannabis permit for Melfort at this time.”

SLGA cited confidentiality concerns when northeastNOW asked why the permit wasn’t issued.

In a previous northeastNOW article, Dr. Jean Paul Lim, the store licence winner, said he was waiting for SLGA to conduct its final inspection and give him the permit. That was back in February and while the store has been renovated, it is still closed.

He said once he received his permit, it would only take a matter of weeks to hire staff and open.

Lim also won licences for Rosetown and Outlook, but those have yet to open as well.

NortheastNOW attempted to contact Lim, but those calls were not returned before deadline.

Melfort Mayor Rick Lang said, from the perspective of the city, their hands are tied.

“As a community, I feel that we’ve done everything we can to facilitate the opening of the business,” Lang said. “And it’s definitely a hold up of this service to our community.”

Lang added it’s one of those things where the city almost has to sit back and wait because it is mainly a provincial government thing.

“The holdup is disappointing,” he said. “But, sometimes those things happen. We run into a case where the city doesn’t have total control, and this is one of those situations.”

The unopened store is at the old Dataport Computer Centre in Melfort on Burrows Ave. W.

mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6

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