Cannabis sales legal as of today, but no local store can sell it yet
Kelowna retailer awaiting B.C. licence welcomes freedom to use pot without fear of arrest, prosecution
Legalization day for cannabis is finally here, but Kelowna residents will have to buy online for now as local pot shops have been forced to stop selling the drug.
Starting today, non-medical cannabis will be available for legal purchase online at bccannabisstores.com.
The only legal cannabis store open today in B.C. is one in Kamloops.
A cannabis retailer in Kelowna is welcoming the legalization of marijuana in Canada.
“I don’t really think people understand the impact of what is happening,” said Bob Kay, owner of Be Kind. “To realize that I will not be arrested and subjected to prosecution and detainment anymore for possession of a plant that makes us feel amazing, it’s going to be a moment.”
Recently, Be Kind stopped selling cannabis products, choosing to comply with city orders.
“City council has asked us, through attorneys and lawyers, if we would comply with an order to shut down. We agreed with that order,” said Kay. “We made a decision that in order to get provincial licensing through the new legal scheme of things, we would comply with the order.”
Kay said his business, which has about 17,000 members in the Okanagan, is being held at bay waiting for direction from city council.
For now, Be Kind sells only cannabis paraphernalia, including pipes, bongs, glassware, hats and shirts.
“It’s like owning a wine store and only being able to sell wine cork openers,” said Kay. “We hear from upwards of 50 to 60 people a day who come here and are outraged about what the city has done.”
Kay has applied for a provincial licence to sell cannabis and is planning to apply for a licence through the city.
The application window is open until the end of November, and a team at the city will begin reviewing the applications in January. Applications will be judged based on how far the proposed shop is removed from major city parks and schools, proposed security arrangements, store design and business plan.
“The city is extremely delayed in their process,” said Kay.
Tuesday was the final day for many illegal pot shops, and one Kelowna dispensary was brimming with customers buying cannabis.
“Today is our last day, so that’s why we’re busy,” said Madison, an employee at Okanagan Cannabinoid Therapy on Highway 33.
Mary Jane’s Headquarters in Rutland does not sell cannabis, but it expects to benefit from its legalization through increased sales of its paraphernalia.
“More people will probably start (using cannabis),” Max, the store manager, said Tuesday. “We’re going to have sales, so it will be busy.”
Two local pot shops, Black Crow Herbals Association and
Cannabis for Cancer and Pain Society, were in a Kelowna court Tuesday to fix a date for their cases relating to bylaw charges. Each business is charged with 38 offences committed between Nov. 1, 2017, and Jan. 2, 2018, for violating bylaws by selling marijuana.
Once they open, legal private and public retailers will be allowed to sell dried cannabis, cannabis oils, capsules and seeds that comply with federal requirements.
They also may sell accessories, such as rolling papers, pipes and bongs.
For more information about the provincial laws surrounding cannabis, go online to cannabis.gov.bc.ca.