A pioneering business that debuted at Harbour Nights has found a permanent home in Hamilton.

Uplift Dispensary, which sells cannabidiol and hemp-derived products and experiences, opened officially on Friday on Burnaby Street.

The business is co-owned by sisters Michel’le and Kalyn Cannonier.

Products include CBD flowers, pre-rolled joints that contain no tobacco or nicotine, powdered drink enhancers, tea, gummies and a variety of snacks including the Doweedos brand of chips.

Michel’le Cannonier said Uplift’s products, which they import from places as diverse as Amsterdam, Colorado and Las Vegas, have a 0.3 per cent THC component.

Products having under 1 per cent THC component, she added, are legal in Bermuda.

Pre-rolls are sold in both “psychoactive” and “non-psychoactive” forms.

The psychoactive variety will provide a “buzz equal to two glasses of wine”, Ms Cannonier said, while the other variety will provide “more of just a body relaxation”.

Prices range from $10 for drinks to $30 for organic gummies.

Ms Cannonier, whose job title is “full-time budtender”, is the lone staff member.

She said the idea to open the business came to her after she consumed gummies and CBD oil to help her with Covid-related headaches after a prolonged bout of the virus about a year ago.

Ms Cannonier added: “I knew there was an untapped market in Bermuda, and I wondered why there wasn’t a store that just sold CBD.”

In addition to Harbour Nights, Uplift took the product to Cup Match and to St George’s Marine Expo this year.

Ms Cannonier said: “The response has been overwhelmingly great, even from locals. For tourists, they are very excited because they are coming from ‘legal’ places.”

The enterprising siblings plan to offer CBD cooking classes, as well as “Puff N Paint”, which Ms Cannonier said is similar to Sip N Paint classes “but with a joint”. They also plan to offer Puff N Yoga.

Uplift is aiming to start those events this month.

Ms Cannonier said: “We will offer experiences — it is what sets us apart.”

Uplift eventually wants to offer a lounge where people can consume their products.

Ms Cannonier spent 15 years working in the dietary department at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. She is also a qualified nursing assistant, and said she always wanted to become a nurse.

She added: “I have found another way to help people. We do have cancer patients who love our products. They say it brings them incredible relief.”

The Cannonier sisters have done their preparation.

They won the Rocket Pitch and women’s conference pitch competitions presented by the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation last year, took part in the month-long Forbes magazine 30 Under 30 residency programme in February, and are graduates of the Ignite Bermuda entrepreneurial accelerator.

They are two months into the 12-month Enterprise Bermuda incubator programme at the BEDC.

Ms Cannonier also spent a year taking online courses with Cannabis Training University.

The Denver-based institution calls itself “the world's leading online weed college”.

Ms Cannonier said: “When cannabis becomes legal, we will be ready.”

Uplift Dispensary is open from Monday to Thursday between 10am and 6pm, and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am until 7pm.