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Pot shop stinks up club

A Vancouver Island pot shop has agreed to move after running afoul of a martial arts club.

For the past five years, Skillz Canada has offered martial arts programs for kids as young as three and as old as teens.

However, six months ago the martial arts centre was filled with the aroma of marijuana after a dispensary, Canna Corner, set up shop next door.

Venting was not enough to get rid of the aroma and Skillz owner Rebecca Stephens said she lost about $20,000 in business since the pot shop opened.

Stephens says she isn't necessarily against dispensaries – there are three other storefronts nearby but all are operating a safe distance away from the gym – but when Canna Corner opened up, her businesses started to dwindle.

"We had families just leave. Lots. Dozens and dozens of kids, which ends up to be thousands and thousands of dollars," she said.

The City of Nanaimo says it has received complaints about the pot shop but so far it hasn't taken action due to looming legalization in the country.

A man who would only identify himself as a co-owner of the dispensary said the shop is already closed and will be relocating soon – a move the martial arts studio sees as a major victory.

- with files from CTV Vancouver Island



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