Whistler (BC), Canada – Remember Ross Rebagliati, the first snowboarder to win a gold medal in giant slalom at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, who was subsequently stripped of his medal when he tested positive for marijuana use? While the Olympic committee eventually reversed his decision, Rebagliati’s reputation never fully recovered from the scandal.

He’s now, however, looking to capitalize on his infamy. Rebagliati has launched “Ross’ Gold,” a planned franchise of medical marijuana shops across Canada that will trade on his fame. Ross’s Gold expects to open a flagship store in the British Columbia ski resort village of Whistler this fall after the federal government privatizes the medical marijuana production industry, with satellite stores to be located in Vancouver and Toronto. Rebagliati himself is named as the President and Director of Rebagliati Gold Enterprises Ltd. with a business address listed in Vancouver.

Currently, patients apply to Health Canada to take part in the government agency’s Marijuana Medical Access Program, and nearly 22,000 individuals have as of August 2012. When their application is accepted, they are able to either grow the marijuana at home or purchase it from a government producer.

However, the Canadian federal government recently announced that it is getting out of the medical marijuana production business, instead opening the market to companies that meet “strict security requirements.” The government’s goal is to have the new guidelines in place by March 31.

“Unlike other high growth new industries, the problem the marijuana industry faces is simply legalization and regulation. It’s not questionable if people will use it or not,” the company posted on Tuesday on its fledgling Facebook page. “According to a recent Angus Reid survey, three-quarters (75%) of respondents believe Canada would be better off taxing and regulating the substance.

“When and if marijuana is decriminalized in Canada like it has been in the American states of Washington and Colorado, the opportunity would also exist for the company to become a government licensed supplier to the general public,” the company added in a separate statement.

Rebagliati Gold Ltd. expects that it will be able to begin establishing revenues by the second quarter of 2013 from the sale of retail items through its Internet storefront.