It's been nearly eight months since the federal government legalized the cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis.
And, while supply still lags behind demand in some parts of the country, at least there are outlets for consumers to find the product they desire.
You can legally buy cannabis at licensed stores in Port Hardy, Invermere, Tumbler Ridge, Bowen Island and Dawson Creek - but, not in the Okanagan.
In fact, the Okanagan remains the only region in B.C. without a single legally licensed cannabis store.
It's anyone's guess when that will change.
There are currently 490 non-medical cannabis retail applications sitting with the province, including 221 for the Interior/North region, which includes the Okanagan. More are coming in almost daily.
Officials with the province say those applications are being looked at on a first-come, first-served basis, but are unable to say when they'll get to all of them.
Each application must be reviewed to ensure they comply with government requirements before a site inspection is conducted at each outlet.
Since the first licence was issued for a store in Kimberley Oct. 31, only 29 have been approved.
The closest to the Okanagan are outlets in Salmon Arm, Kamloops and Castlegar.
A number of Okanagan-based applications are awaiting approval, including ones for stores in Summerland and Lake Country submitted at the end of 2018.
Seven applications for retail stores in Kelowna were recently submitted to the province, with at least eight more to come in the coming weeks.
Even the province is in a holding pattern.
Fourteen government cannabis stores are listed on the province's website, however just one in Kamloops is open.
- Wayne Moore, Castanet
