New location of Dawson City, Yukon's cannabis shop has some locals fuming

The owners of Dawson City, Yukon's first and only cannabis shop are moving their store from its Second Avenue location to a larger space on Front Street, but some residents are pushing back against the idea.

Dawson City Cannabis has been operating from a small shop above the CIBC bank for the past five years. 

Anna Radzimirska, who co-owns the store with Sarah Cooke, said the business has done very well, and continues to grow so they need a bigger space to serve its customers.

The new location of the store will be at 990 Front Street, across from the General Store, where the former Klondike Nugget and Ivory jewellery shop was until it closed permanently last summer.

"These kinds of opportunities in Dawson don't come up very often," Radzimirska said. "It is a beautiful little building right next door to the strips of all the little shops. So not only is it really a prime location right on Front Street but it is ground-level, so much more easily accessible for our clients."

Radzimirska said a large percentage of her customers are elders, seniors, and people with mobility issues, which is a large reason for wanting to relocate.

Radzimirska said the new space will also come with a new look, and a new name. The new store will be called High North, and since the store has large windows facing the street, she plans to install frosted windows with scenes of what Front Street used to look like during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

"Part of the regulation is that people that are passing by are not able to look inside the shop, so we really wanted to keep to that," she said. "And just to make it as subtle as possible so it's comfortable for people. It's not like this flashy pot shop."

Radzimirska said the store will also be offering other non-cannabis-related products to customers, including art and products made by other local business owners.

She said she wants to create a welcoming space for everyone, but says people must bring, and show, their ID if they want to buy any cannabis.

Some oppose the location

Dawson resident Laurie Berglund says she doesn't think it's appropriate to have the cannabis shop on one of the town's busiest streets.

She was among a handful of residents who spoke out against the move, during a retail licence hearing before the territory's Cannabis Licensing Board last month.

Berglund said she objects to the new location, as there's a daycare just a few buildings away. She's also concerned because it's close to a green space across the street where people, including kids, often gather. 

"Putting it in that primary location, we're giving this message that that's something our town is about," Berglund said.

Berglund said having a cannabis shop among the other stores on Front Street "normalizes" the idea of cannabis use, "to the extent that people think it's just a normal part of life." She believes that will have a negative impact on young people in particular.

"Whether they go in to buy a souvenir or whether they go in to buy cannabis, that's beside the point. Young children see a lot of people going in and out of that store and they assume they're going in there to buy cannabis — and that normalizes that for them."