I’m sure you’ve noticed the furtive way that dispensaries have to present themselves to the public.
The glass is opaque, and there’s a lobby before you can enter. These aesthetic choices are actually mandated by the government, in an attempt to protect minors from being tempted by cannabis before they’re old enough. The reasoning is similar to that of cigarettes, which are hidden from eager eyes by discrete cabinets. While it’s important to protect minors, is this the best way to go about it? Is weed being treated in a manner consistent with other, similar products?
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is currently reviewing regulations that require cannabis stores to ensure that cannabis and related products cannot be seen from outside their premises. These regulations were put in place to prevent minors from being enticed by cannabis. To comply with the rules, many retailers have resorted to installing frosted windows or interior walls that block the view from the exterior.
Hiding the interior of dispensaries to conceal their products is a strange choice. For one thing, most stores keep the actual cannabis hidden behind the counter, or in a back room. Even if it was displayed in a window, the products are all plainly packaged. The only distinctive thing about the containers is colour, which isn’t really enough to spark adolescent fantasies. Bongs and other paraphernalia are part of the reason dispensaries use opaque windows, but the same rules don’t apply to corner stores, who often display their bongs in windows or behind the counter. It’s also impossible to enter a dispensary without ID, making it much harder to get that alcohol.
Speaking of alcohol, why doesn’t the LCBO have to conceal their products with opaque windows?
Unlike weed, alcohol has very tempting packaging and extensive marketing. Cigarettes and cannabis are bad for minors, but no worse than alcohol, yet they aren’t controlled in a consistent way. Think about the way that disposable vapes are displayed and sold. They’re brightly coloured, cheap, far less controlled, and terrible for your health.
Opaque windows actually make buying and selling cannabis more dangerous. Clear windows are a sort of deterrent against robbers because they are less likely to get away unseen. Opaque windows are a great way to invite trouble. Foggy windows aren’t unique to dispensaries, but they do single them out for robbery. Weed is legal, so vendors should be protected in the same way as everyone else.
It also makes it hard for stores to stand out from their competitors when they rely so heavily on their signage. While marketing is a far less important concern than safety, it’s still unfair to restrict business owners creativity and ambition. Considering that most dispensaries just look like Apple stores inside, I don’t see the big deal in hiding it. If anything, concealing the interior makes it more appealing to minors, because they’re imagination can populate the interior however they please.
