Pot shops facing rude, angry tirades over vaccine mandate

Some days have been less than pleasant at Prairie Cannabis this week.

Workers have had to refuse customers on top of facing vulgar comments and angry tirades when trying to enforce Saskatchewan’s new proof-of-vaccination mandate which began last Friday.

Jim Southam, owner of three Prairie Cannabis locations in Saskatoon, said the angry confrontations don’t make up a majority of interactions, but they aren’t isolated either.

“We have had some negative verbal abuse, not just at my stores but at other stores,” Southam said.

Southam didn’t find out pot stores would have to ask for proof of vaccination until Sept. 28, three days before the new mandate was set to begin.

Sending out a press release shortly afterwards to try and spread the word to as many customers as possible attracted some resentful criticism.

“Somebody took it upon themselves to send me an email directly and called me a Nazi, a Commie and a p***y for not standing up,” Southam said. “We’re just doing what we have to do and it’s a little disheartening to hear that from customers.”

Southam is having trouble believing simply asking for someone’s identification is provoking such irate reactions in return.

“That’s what we’ve been directed to do by the government,” he said.

Southam, who also serves as vice-president of the Saskatchewan Independent Cannabis Retailers Network and is a founding member of the Saskatchewan Weed Pool, said the sudden notice pot retailers were no longer deemed essential was inadequate.

He was told by SLGA officials that the change came from Health Minister Paul Merriman.

Southam said he asked for a meeting with Merriman to try to understand the change after 18 months.

The meeting was declined and no explanation was offered. Southam was directed to the Business Response Team handling business concerns throughout the pandemic. He said they “weren’t much help at all” either.

“There’s just a lot of confusion. It seems liquor stores and cannabis stores were added kind of as an afterthought,” he said. “Everyone can try and draw their conclusions as to why that would be.”

Pointing to other businesses, Southam said it’s hard to pinpoint why pot stores were targeted as malls and many retail locations have no vaccine mandates in place.

“We don’t feel it’s correct,” he said. “It’s been a little bit of added stress trying to figure it out and in the health order, it directly states that counter service businesses — which is what we are — aren’t to be included in this health order.

“So we’re not sure why we got lumped in with event venues, concerts and nightclubs where people congregated, because that’s not what our stores are.”