Business on the rise at Vatic Cannabis store

Vatic Cannabis — formerly known as Eden — was one of the first weed stores to open up in Saskatchewan. Five years later, business is picking up.

Lukas Leibel, the manager of the store in Emerald Park, has worked at Vatic from the beginning. He says business is on the rise five years after weed’s legalization in Canada.

“People are getting more familiar with cannabis and eager to try it with all the new products available since legalization,” he said.

When pot shops started opening up, many customers voiced concerns about the high prices of products compared to what they’d buy from their dealer. Leibel says prices have since dropped.

“I’d say there’s a shift in attitude for sure. The prices have come down since legalization. It’s pretty comparable to what you would get from your dealer when it was illegal,” Leibel said.

“You get all sorts of people coming in (now) too which is nice to see versus just the people that were smoking before legalization.”

Leibel said the expansion of cannabis products like oils, CBD water and edibles have attracted more people.

“(It) makes it easier for people to try instead of just getting a bottle of oil when it first came out. Now it’s got flavours and everything like that,” Leibel said.

Leibel said Vatic has built up a loyal customer base over the years and sees lots of people from around the area and places like Regina.

Vatic Cannabis in Emerald Park. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

Leibel also said the store’s location off of the Trans-Canada Highway makes it a convenient stop for people travelling by.

“Business is doing fairly well,” he said. “There’s a lot more people coming in than five years ago. People are more eager to try it with all the different products available.”

The pandemic was tough for Vatic according to Leibel. When COVID vaccination policies were in place, many customers were turned away for being unable to provide proof of vaccination.

However, Leibel said the business has made a steady recovery.

“We’re still on the uprise,” he said. “With COVID still being out there, some people are a little hesitant to come in just with touching the debit machine, touching the doors everything like that.”

Leibel said he appreciates the SLGA’s removal of the policy requiring retailers to check the IDs of everyone who comes into the store.

The SLGA’s new policy asks that retailers check IDs for anyone who looks younger than 25.

“It definitely has helped because a lot of people don’t carry their licence on them or for whatever reason that may be,” he said.