"It is with great gratitude I announce, that today marks my final day as the owner of HOTBOX," tweets Abi Roach

Toronto’s historic Hot Box Cafe, which has operated out of Kensington Market for the last 20 years, is changing hands, owner Abi Roach tweeted on Wednesday morning.

Roach has been a tireless advocate for cannabis policy reform for the last two decades. In addition to the Hot Box Cafe, she co-runs a neighbouring hydroponic business, and a bud-and-breakfast tour company in Jamaica.

She is also the executive chair of NORML Canada and the co-director of Sensible Ontario, a campaign from the Ontario Cannabis Consumer & Retail Alliance for cannabis law and policy reform.

Post-legalization, things have not gone as expected for Roach. When the Ontario government decided to switch to a lottery system to award cannabis retail licenses, she lost hundreds of thousands of dollars that had been spent to secure locations, in addition to drawing up security plans, floor plans, and franchise agreements.

“It’s been a failure,” Roach told The Growth Op last month, when asked about the legalization roll-out.

“We’re all suffering right now. The corporate world needs people like myself who actually understand the industry and actually understand the consumer. And I need them because I don’t know how to grow a business to be a nationwide retailer. I don’t know how to negotiate with China on products.”

Roach faced additional issues with the introduction of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which resulted in the cafe no longer allowing people to smoke or vape in the space.

Despite the challenges, Roach has continue to advocate for cannabis reform, having built up a lifetimes worth of experience navigating by-laws and dealing with city councillors and inspectors.

When reached for comment, Roach said she will have more news about who is taking over and what’s next soon.

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