Ramblin’ with… Rasta Lady Cannabis Shop

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/09/2022 (271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rasta Lady Cannabis Shop has a distinctly Jamaican sound to it.

I stumbled across it while spelunking around in Facebook recently. What caught my eye was the location — Morris, Man.

Having lived in Morris for several years while teaching at Morris School, I knew this deserved a bit more of my attention.

When I first contacted the Morris shop, I definitely recognized the manager as the one and only Kat Lamoureux, a young woman I encountered first in Morris and then when we both were at Rosenort School — she was my student in Grade 7 and 8.

As per my usual column style, I asked questions online and Kat responded. Here’s an edited version of that exchange:

“(Rasta Lady) is only located in Morris, Man,. but we are tied to Rural Buds Cannabis Shop in Carman and St. Pierre. RLCS and RBCS are owned by a local businessman, Pat Schmitke, who also owns the Morris Bigway grocery store. We are working to expand across Manitoba, but not across Canada… quite yet,” Kat explained.

When I asked how long Rasta Lady has been in business, she wrote:

“RLCS first opened on Jan. 13, 2021, so we have been open for over a year now. Rural Buds Carman opened on May 28, 2021, and Rural Buds St. Pierre has been open since July 21, 2021. Along with that, we (recently opened) our fourth location, Rural Buds Cannabis Shop in St. Adolphe, at the beginning of April 2022.”

I then asked who actually came up with the Rasta Lady name:

“So, the name Rasta Lady came from the owner, Pat Schmitke, while he was on vacation in Jamaica with his wife. She has beautiful dreadlocked hair, which caught the attention of the locals, and they gave her the nickname of ‘the rasta lady’. Pat liked the nickname and decided to name the Morris location after his wife.”

I asked how the business was doing, especially in light of its location:

“Despite being where we are, there was not a lot of backlash that we’ve seen; however, there is still a stigma that is tied to cannabis. We’ve worked very hard to make sure that our locations are a safe, warm, and welcoming environment for everyone. We want every customer to feel taken care of without any fear of being judged as we are here to help. We focus on spreading accurate information to break the stigma. Business is good, we have an awesome customer base from all over rural Manitoba that seems to like what we have to offer. We have encountered little to no resistance our shops being here; it has actually surprised me just how well-received we have been thus far, and I believe that this reflects in our customer reviews.”

I asked Kat if she could provide any other information:

“A fun fact about Rasta Lady Cannabis Shop is that it is located inside an ATCO trailer in the grocery store parking lot. While it is a lot smaller than most dispensaries, it offers a unique environment where we are able to connect with our customers on a different level, as the shop gives off a comfy, homey feeling.

“For those who may not consume cannabis, we offer many CBD products as well.

Weldon Rinn
St. Vital community correspondent

Weldon Rinn lives, writes, and enjoys living in St. Vital. He can be reached at weldonrinn2@gmail.com

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