The sign outside the store at 181 Charlotte St. says "Psychic Studio," but people aren't going in for fortune-telling - they're buying marijuana.

And although Peterborough Police know about it, the store - which doesn't have a licence to operate legally - hasn't been shut down.

The dispensary is called The Medicine Box.

The small store - unadorned, on the inside - is located one door west of Tribal Voices on Charlotte Street. It's open 11 hours daily, seven days a week.

The store listing on the online directory Weedmaps shows it sells marijuana and edibles for recreational use.

The listing has 25 pages of customer reviews, the oldest dating back six months ago.

When The Examiner visited in January, the owner didn't want to be interviewed or have a story published.

Although cannabis has been legal for recreational use in Canada since October 2018, there are laws about possession and distribution.

The Ontario government's website says people are permitted to buy about one ounce of dried recreational cannabis at one time, for personal use.

It also says recreational cannabis can be purchased only online through the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS.ca) or in person at authorized stores (which Peterborough doesn't yet have).

Buying anywhere else can result in a fine up to $100,000 or a year in jail, states the website.

Peterborough Police are aware of The Medicine Box, spokesperson Lauren Gilchrist wrote in an email, but cannot say anything about the police response.

"An investigation of a potentially illegal dispensary, and the shutting down of an illegal dispensary, is a complex process that requires extensive resources from our service and takes many months to complete," she wrote.

In 2016, city police twice raided another illegal dispensary, Cannabis Culture, on George Street downtown. The store eventually stopped selling marijuana and operator Richard Standen was fined $12,500 in court in 2018.

Meanwhile the operator of the city's first legal cannabis store has been waiting months for final authorization to open from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (ACGO).

That store is going to be called Growers Retail; it will be operated by a firm called Huge Shops in the former Classic Rattan location at 225 George St. N.

Huge Shops was selected by lottery by the AGCO last summer to open.

Michael Potts, the president of Huge Shops, couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

The Medicine Box advertises an ounce of marijuana for $190.

An ounce of weed purchased from legal sources would cost roughly $316 in Ontario, according to Statistics Canada - which is about $126 more expensive.

The average cost of an ounce of pot on the black market in Ontario is about $186, according to Statistics Canada.

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joelle.kovach

@peterboroughdaily.com