Indiva, a licensed medical marijuana grower, has secured leases for storefronts in London and Ottawa, while negotiations are underway in Toronto, the company said Monday.

“It means we’ll have a direct relationship with the consumers,” chief operating officer Koby Smutylo said of the company’s plan to become a retailer.

Indiva’s dispensaries will carry its products, products from other licensed producers and a range of cannabis accessories.

The London dispensary will open at 875 Wellington Rd., just south of Southdale Road. The 1,700-square-foot space is sandwiched between a Firehouse Subs and a Fedex office.

While dispensaries across the country are getting ready to open their doors on Oct. 17, when Canada becomes the second country in the world after Uruguay to legalize recreational marijuana, adults in Ontario will only be able to legally order pot through a government-run online service.

Storefront pot sales won’t begin until April 1, 2019. The delay is the result of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s pivot from the government-monopoly on cannabis sales set up under the previous Liberal government.

The province hasn’t begun the process of granting retail licences for marijuana dispensaries, but many cannabis companies are getting a jump start on securing leases for their pot shops.

While some licensed producers are forging partnerships to run their retail stores, Indiva wants to run its own dispensaries, Smutylo said.

“It’s a new business for everybody, except for the illegal market, which has been allowed exist for quite some time in Ontario,” he said.

Four black market dispensaries continue to operate in London, despite repeated police attempts to crackdown on the illegal businesses.

The black market’s continued existence – and the problems illegal dispensaries created for some landlords – is making it difficult for some cannabis companies to secure leases.

“It’s a challenge because some landlords won’t lease to cannabis businesses,” Smutylo said.