The president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board says his business has been devastated by an illegal pot shop that moved into the same strip mall in Blackburn Hamlet.



Shane Silva moved out of his HomeLife Capital Realty office on Innes Road on Oct. 29, a few days after the Capital Essence marijuana dispensary opened two doors down.



He says he had little choice: Five agents at his office left and he was worried that customers would balk at visiting a mall where “shady things are going on.”



“When someone’s coming in to purchase probably the biggest thing they’ll ever purchase in their life, the last thing they want to do is smell pot coming from next door.”



Silva is now operating his realty business out of the basement of his home and trying to figure out what to do next. He and the landlord are in a dispute over his lease, with both sides saying they have suffered damages. The dispensary, meanwhile, has been closed since last Friday, the day police conducted drug raids on half a dozen pot shops across the city.



It’s the latest twist as Ottawa residents, politicians, police, businesses and landlords react to the arrival of marijuana dispensaries in the city.



The landlord of the small Innes Road mall says he had no idea the dispensary would be selling marijuana. Peang Taing, who arrived in Canada as a refugee from Cambodia 37 years ago, says his English is still not perfect. He bought the strip mall a year and a half ago, hoping the revenue would help him retire from his jewelry store in Orleans.



The real estate agent who found the tenant said the business was a “compassion pharmacy,” said Taing. “From my understanding, compassion would be a good thing, right? It means being nice to people.” Taing said he thought the pharmacy might offer low prices to help the poor. “This is crazy. I didn’t realize Ottawa had that kind of thing (marijuana dispensaries).”



Taing says he’d gladly let Capital Essence out of its three-year lease with no penalty. “Just go away, I don’t need this sort of thing. … I’d be happy to leave it empty for awhile, then rent to some good people.”



In the meantime, Taing handed the matter over to his lawyer, who sent a letter to Silva warning that he’s on the hook for the remaining five months of the lease and preparing the unit for a new tenant.



Silva, however, says the landlord should compensate him for damage to his business. “He’s broken the lease by not allowing us to do peaceful business.”



Silva said he had planned to renew the lease for another five to 10 years. He said he’s spent more than $100,00 on renovations. “The next five years were supposed to be gravy for us, were supposed to be profitable. He’s basically taken that from us.”



Silva said he could never have imagined such a predicament. “Not in my wildest dreams. Here we are, just trying to sell houses to people. I live in the neighbourhood, I’ve lived here for 22 years.



“This is insane. I’ve never heard of this in my life, where an illegal pot shop can open next door.”



Silva says he supports medical marijuana, but its sale should be regulated. “If there’s a need for it, fine. But hey, let’s do it right. These guys are cowboys right now. They’re just out there doing what they want.”



Patients with a doctor’s prescription can legally buy medical marijuana by mail from a producer licensed by Health Canada. The dispensaries that have popped up across Canada are operating illegally.



Silva says any real estate agent who arranges a lease for an illegal business could be in trouble with the the Real Estate Council of Ontario. “Dealing with something that is going to cause harm to anyone else is a chargeable offence.



“Whoever represented the landlord in this case is in a lot of trouble, because they set up the landlord with an illegal activity.”



But the real estate agent, Gerald Johnson, said he was not acting in his official capacity. He was just doing a favour for Taing by introducing him to a client who wanted to rent the unit, said Johnson. He didn’t charge a fee.



It was Taing and his lawyer who approved the lease, said Johnson in an interview from Punta Cana. “Somebody calls me about a lease, I take it to the landlord.” The situation is no different than a tenant who rents a house then later sets up a grow-op, he said. “The real estate agent can’t be responsible for that.”



Capital Essence said it would sell only to patients who were registered to receive medical marijuana, said Johnson. “I didn’t think the stores were illegal. If there (are) that many in town, why could it be illegal?”



There were 17 dispensaries in town a few weeks ago, but only about five are now open for business. Six were closed after police drug raids last week; a landlord evicted a shop that was selling pot from a takeout window in a boarded up storefront; and two others are temporarily closed after armed robberies.



Johnson said medical marijuana has helped many people. Capital Essence is in an out-of the way strip mall, away from schools and shopping centres, he said. He doesn’t believe the shop will hurt nearby businesses in the mall.



“That’s malarkey. . . . What happens if it was a strip joint? Are you going to dictate (who can move in next door)? What if it was a shawarma restaurant, a Chinese resturant …



“It’s enterprise. The young man wanted to set up a business, he started a business … I don’t see any problems.”



It’s unclear who the “young man” is behind Capital Essence, or whether the business will re-open. The Sun reached a man identified as Mike by phone Thursday. He said he used to be associated with the shop but that it will be re-opened by someone else.



Mike said he was in his car and to text him contact information so he could phone back. He did not phone back. Friday his phone was not receiving messages.



Taing says he hopes he can work something out with Silva. “He’s in a bind, like me. I’m in a bind. We should talk it out, not go to war. I come from a war zone, I know.”