Hybrid model for pot sales welcomed by private shop
B.C. decides marijuana will be sold in both gov’t and privately owned outlets
The B.C. government’s decision that the private sector can have a role in the sale of marijuana next year comes as expected but still welcome news to Rob Lindsay.
Lindsay, spokesman for one of the existing Kelowna pot shops, said he was “thrilled” with Victoria’s announcement Tuesday that the retailing of marijuana will be accomplished through a mix of government-controlled and privately owned outlets.
“This is good news for our industry,” said Lindsay, of Trichome Valley Rx on Enterprise Way.
“I think it is important the private sector be involved in the retailing (of marijuana) because we have the professionalism, expertise and customer service you sometimes don’t find in a government liquor store,” Lindsay said. “We have bud tenders, not just retail clerks.”
However, Lindsay’s enthusiasm may be premature as the City of Kelowna intends to press on with current legal action to shut down Trichome Valley Rx and the other pot shops.
“Today’s announcement from the province does not change the city’s position with respect to our enforcement action against any cannabis storefront dispensary,” says city clerk Stephen Fleming.
And Mayor Colin Basran says the private sector’s expected involvement in pot sales next July does not guarantee Lindsay or any of the other existing operators will necessarily be granted a business licence to operate in Kelowna.
“The big question we still don’t have an answer to is whether these types of dispensaries will be allowed as one of the retailing options,” Mayor Colin Basran said.
“Nothing we have so far tells us that stand-alone dispensaries will be the method of retailing,” Basran said.
It’s conceivable, for example, that pot might only be sold privately through pharmacies, or other types of businesses not currently selling marijuana, Basran said.
No details on the ways in which the private sector will be involved in the retailing of pot were provided Tuesday by the government. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said those details will come in a few months (see related story on page A4).
The City of West Kelowna, like other municipalities, expects to exert some regulatory control over the retailing of marijuana.
“We don’t know what authorities the province will give to municipalities to zone and otherwise regulate, and I expect they will be significant beyond zoning,” West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater said.
West Kelowna has been fining five unlicensed pot shops $1,000 a day since November 1, and has recently taken court action to try to shut them down.
However, Findlater said the city will revisit bylaw regulations regarding the sale of pot once more details are announced by the province in the new year on precisely how the drug will be sold.
The City of Kelowna expects to have power to set rules on the size of pot shops, their hours of operation and where they can be located, Basran said.
“We’ve said consistently to the owners of the dispensaries, ‘Don’t open up,’ because we don’t know what the rules surrounding the retailing of marijuana will
be,” Basran said.
Private pot shop owners, Basran said, had “put themselves in this situation” of facing current legal action aimed at shutting them down while still not being guaranteed to operate once marijuana becomes legal next July.
For his part, Lindsay says the city’s position is “myopic and shortsighted” given the pending legalization of pot.
“We believe we’re doing the right thing in providing safe, high-quality cannabis to our medical patients who need it have a good quality of life,” Lindsay said. “I thought we had a forward-thinking city council, but they continue to disappoint me on this issue.”