The two government-run pot shops approved by Kamloops city council this week will not be opening until next year, the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) tells KamloopsMatters.
Spokesperson Viviana Zanocco says the LDB is shooting for late spring.
“Everything is going to be very similar (to the Summit Drive location),” she says. “All the elements … the social responsibility messaging, the product information, the product displays.”
One of the stores will be located at the Northills Shopping Centre (40-700 Tranquille Rd.), while the other will be at the Lansdowne Village, at 450 Lansdowne St.
Zanocco says the three brick-and-mortar locations were chosen around the same time, in late summer/early fall.
The first government storefront came before council in the 11th hour, literally less than 24 hours before cannabis was legalized in Canada.
“(Kamloops) city council wasn’t accepting applications until Sept. 1, that’s why the last one was a big (deal). We were following what council had set out in terms of zones for retail cannabis,” explains Zanocco.
The Tournament Capital is the only B.C. municipality to have a government-run pot shop. Zanocco says that’s because the city has set out very clear regulations around retail cannabis stores.
She notes the LDB is in talks with other municipalities and are working within each city’s guidelines.
“We got approved for a variance in Williams Lake … and we’re before Cranbrook (city council) on Monday (Nov. 26). Our application for a store in that community is going to a public hearing.”
When asked about how many stores the LDB anticipates to open by the end of 2019, Zanocco couldn’t say.
“The process varies so much between municipalities,” she says.
As for cannabis sales, the LDB says there were 33,826 transactions between Oct. 17 and Nov. 13. The Kamloops B.C. Cannabis Store recorded 17,451 transactions in that same period.
