Stand-alone pot stores only, cities get a say
Recreational marijuana will be sold in a network of stand-alone stores overseen by the province’s liquor regulator, according to rules announced Feb. 5 by the B.C. government.
Public health officials had warned against selling cannabis and alcohol in the same place, advice the province took seriously, said Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general.
When federal law makes recreational pot legal in July, there will be both privately run and government-operated cannabis shops. They will not be allowed to sell alcohol, tobacco, clothes, gas or lottery tickets, although exceptions will be made for pot shops in rural areas.
Privately run cannabis stores cannot brand themselves as a “pharmacy,” “apothecary” or “dispensary” or use other words related to the selling of medicine.
The regulatory system for cannabis stores will be similar to that for liquor stores.
B.C.’s Liquor Distribution Branch will operate a stand-alone network of government-run retail stores and the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch will be responsible for licensing private stores and monitoring the retail sector.
The first government-run cannabis stores are to open by late summer and the online sale of pot is being considered.
All pot shops must purchase wholesale cannabis from the Liquor Distribution Branch, which will obtain cannabis from federally licensed producers.
Retail prices have not been announced.
It will take regular inspection and enforcement to ensure marijuana retailers aren’t getting their supply from organized crime, Farnworth said. “If you’re found to be selling product that’s not from a licensed producer, you’re not going to be in business very long,” he said.
Someone with a criminal record will not be excluded from operating a marijuana store, but someone with ties to organized crime will.
The B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union, partnering with the B.C. Private Liquor Store Association, had pushed for cannabis to be sold in liquor stores.
The two groups said unionized liquor-store employees would be well qualified to deal with the restrictions of selling cannabis, since they already go through rigorous training to ensure alcohol doesn’t get into the hands of minors. As for alcohol, the legal age for buying cannabis will be 19. “There isn’t any scientific evidence that shows that co-location [of cannabis and alcohol] is harmful,” said Paul Finch, treasurer for the union.
Andrew Gill, manager for Farmacy, one of the few cannabis stores with a business licence in Victoria, said it makes sense to sell cannabis and alcohol separately. “The one amplifies the other and the next thing you know, you’re beyond your limit,” Gill said. “When you stick the two things together like that and say: ‘Don’t use them together,’ that seems a little preposterous.”
Gill said he’s happy that B.C. is not following in Ontario’s footsteps, where only the Liquor Control Board of Ontario will be authorized to sell cannabis in stand-alone stores.
Nova Scotia is the only province that has decided to sell cannabis alongside alcohol in government-run stores. “So far, I’m kind of impressed,” Gill said. “It’s nice they’re giving [private operators] a fighting chance.”
B.C. will not cap the number of retail licences available but will consult with local governments, which have the authority to set rules on where stores can operate.
The City of Victoria in 2016 created a regulatory regime that requires pot shops to be at least 200 metres from a school and other cannabis retailers.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said it was a risk establishing rules for cannabis stores ahead of provincial and federal legislation, but that decision has put the city “ahead of the curve.”
“We’ll need to make little to no changes, from what I understand … to our legislative framework,” Helps said. “We’re happy to share our regulatory regime with every other local government in the province that’s now going to have to scramble to get something in place by July.”
The province is creating a 90-day driving prohibition for drug-affected driving, similar to the system that exists for drunk driving. The federal government is still running tests with a device that allows police to detect drug-impaired drivers by checking saliva.
The federal government has yet to pass a bill that toughens Canada’s impaired driving laws. Critics have raised concerns about Bill C-46, which would allow police to conduct random roadside tests without needing a reasonable suspicion that the driver is impaired.