- PROVIDENCE, R.I. –— In another era, college professors ly probably flunked students for turning in business plans built around a marijuana lounge.Times, of course, have changed and with cannabis laws loosening...
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. –— In another era, college professors probably flunked students for turning in business plans built around a marijuana lounge.
Times, of course, have changed and with cannabis laws loosening across the country, Kevin Cintorino’s idea to create a venue where medical marijuana users could gather comfortably doesn’t seem so farfetched.
On Saturday, Cintorino and fellow Johnson & Wales University graduate Ray Diao opened Elevated, Rhode Island’s first medical marijuana vapor lounge.
It was a modest opening, with a little more than a dozen customers and potential members dropping by in its first day, Cintorino said.
“Lots of people came by early and were asking about memberships, but because they had to go to work they couldn’t stay,” Cintorino said. When things slowed down, they closed early for the night.
Located in a small storefront on Peck Street, Elevated combines two things — medical marijuana and vaping — that have become prominent in recent years.
Vaporizing drugs — either tobacco or marijuana — instead of burning them has become popular for a number of reasons, including health, but in Rhode Island it has the added advantage of avoiding the state’s indoor smoking ban. (It’s not smoking if there’s no open flame or combustion.)
The combination of medical marijuana and vaping results in a lounge business that, perhaps because of its novelty, is not highly regulated by the city or state.
“We want to do everything by the book, so we called the [state] Department of Health and the city, but no one knows how to treat it,” said Cintorino, adding that the only permits he was told he needed were a general retail license and a permit to operate on Sundays.
That doesn’t mean authorities don’t have their eyes on this new kind of business.
On Saturday night, a man who identified himself as a Providence police officer visited Elevated during a reporter’s interview.
The officer said he was just there to learn more about the lounge for permitting purposes and declined to answer any questions.
Earlier calls to the Providence Board of Licenses were referred to the city solicitor’s office, where no one was immediately available.
Cintorino said the idea for Elevated came from his own experience — he is a medical marijuana user for a stomach condition — and the success of lounges in Colorado, which decriminalized recreational marijuana.
“A lot of landlords don’t let you use medicine in your apartment, so people have to go to their friends’ houses and other places that aren’t convenient,” Cintorino said. “Here they can relax and talk about what works best with other people who know about it.”
Cintorino does not intend to sell any marijuana at Elevated — patients must bring their own — but expects to generate revenue from memberships, hourly rates for use of the space, pipe rental and sales of accessories. (The single-year membership is $65, one-month is $34 and single-day a symbolic $4.20)
Cintorino said he took out a line of credit from Bank of America to help renovate the lounge, which can only hold 18 customers at a time, and has invested between $20,000 and $30,000 so far.
The lounge features couches, tables and televisions in front, and behind the counter an assortment of pipes, heating equipment and a commercial dishwasher.
With a degree in food service management and Diao’s in culinary arts, Cintorino said one day, in a larger venue, he could see a kitchen and full menu added to the Elevated concept.
Tuesday 17 February 2015
Elevated, R.I.’s first medical marijuana vapor lounge, opens in Providence
Elevated, R.I.’s first medical marijuana vapor lounge, opens in Providence
