A local cannabis retailer feels like he’s being forced out of business due to what he considers are discriminatory policies surrounding the cannabis industry.

Thomas Clarke has achieved over $1-million in sales at his Portugal Cove-St. Philips shop since October 17th, but he’s barely able to make ends meet thanks to the commission structure set up by Cannabis NL.

He says the 8 per cent commission he receives on sales is based on NLC’s commission rate for independent alcohol retailers, but that’s not fair.

He doesn’t have groceries, pop or lottery tickets that Mom and Pop stores have. Something needs to change, or he says he and other small retailers will go by the wayside.

Now, Clarke says, he’s having trouble with the banks thanks to changes made regarding cannabis businesses. His bank has just informed him that he’s too high a risk as a business client and he has to find a new bank as of October 11th. So he called a different bank.

They told him that the major banks have a new policy that any business involved in the cannabis industry hoping to open an account would be charged a one-time fee of $7,000.