Zilos

The business isn't breaking any laws, writes Philippe Morin, but that doesn't mean everyone is comfortable with its product line.

It's called Puffalot: A new store on St. Joseph Boulevard in Orleans that sells pipes, rolling paper, gram scales, and bongs (multiple-user water pipes) -- everything needed to smoke marijuana, except the actual weed.

Store owner Len Cote, 31, says his store doesn't encourage drug use, since his products can be used to smoke regular tobacco. Yet, it's clear that Puffalot celebrates marijuana: The store carries cannabis-patterned hats and shirts, and flyers for legalization.

It also sells a drink called Test Pure, which allows cannabis smokers to pass a urine test undetected. The drink contains very high doses of B vitamins, and promises to "mask and flush out" any toxins present in the urine.

Though Puffalot is perfectly legal -- and even exceeding the law through its voluntary ID checks -- some Orleans residents are concerned about the store's sale of bongs and pipes.

Barb Gage, principal at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School nearby, says the sale of marijuana-themed paraphernalia "might encourage" young people to smoke.

"He has the right to do business," says Ms. Gage. "But I believe that for young people and teenagers, it's not appropriate -- it's not in the best interest of young people to use."

Ms. Gage says marijuana is a problem for a "small number" of students at Sir Wilfrid Laurier. The school recommends counselling for students caught smoking drugs, with harsher penalties ranging all the way to expulsion under Ontario law.

The school also prohibits cannabis-themed clothing, such as the shirts sold at Puffalot.

Most people polled in an unscientific fashion on St. Joseph Boulevard had no objection to the store. Yet, a few doors away at Champlain Cleaners, manager Natalie Potvin strongly disagreed with the items sold by Mr. Cote.

"I don't think it has a place in Orleans, or any community" said Ms. Potvin. "It says that smoking marijuana is OK."

Ms. Potvin says age restrictions on bongs and pipes mean little to her, since "it doesn't mean people won't buy them for kids."

She also says items like Test Pure drinks shouldn't be available, because they facilitate an illegal act.

Mr. Cote says "response has been good" from customers, and that Ottawa police "haven't had any problems."

Legally, all pipes and bongs sold by Mr. Cote are classified as "tobacco products." This is despite having marijuana leaves and the word "cannabis" sometimes printed on packages.

"It might be the first store in Orleans, but not in Ottawa," Mr. Cote says. "I know for a fact there are plenty more downtown."

Though Mr. Cote does not sell cigarettes or pipe tobacco, his store voluntarily checks ID before selling most products.

This is a voluntary measure, which is not required by Ontario law.

"Blunt Wraps," or rolling papers made of tobacco leaf, are the only item in Mr. Cote's store that would carry a minimum age limit.

Linda Anderson, of the city's tobacco vendor regulation department, says Puffalot is compliant with all tobacco sale bylaws. "We've had no problems with that establishment," she said.

Mr. Cote, who owns a second Puffalot store in Kingston, says cannabis smoking is less serious than some people describe. He says it is a soft recreational drug, which is no worse than alcohol or tobacco -- both of which he does not recommend, but are accepted as legal.

The Orleans Puffalot opened in mid-December, a short distance from Place d'Orleans, and next door to the constituency office of Liberal MP Marc Godbout.

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