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Trail business awaits word on retail cannabis licence

The Province of BC will takeover online sales, and has the only store licenced to open Oct. 17
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The Trail Times contacted the province and was directed to the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) website as retailers must get a cannabis retail store licence from the LDB’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch.

Just because pot becomes legal in Canada next week, that doesn’t mean you”ll be able to buy it in Trail.

Green Cannabis Consulting is closing for renovations on Oct. 16, the day before legalization. What remains unknown, is the timeline for when the downtown Trail store will open again and offer non-medical cannabis under a new business name.

“(We) will re-open as soon as we receive our Non-Medical Cannabis Sales License from the B.C. provincial government,” founder Jeff Thompson told the Trail Times. “We will no longer be offering consulting services out of our Cedar Avenue location. Green Cannabis Consulting will be moving and a new company will replace it, offering recreational cannabis sales, if approved.”

Thompson added, “We have no information about when our license application could be approved.”

The Trail Times contacted the province and was directed to the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) website as retailers must get a cannabis retail store licence from the LDB’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch.

As far as buying pot on Oct. 17, there will be one licenced B.C. store - six hours from Trail - in addition to online sales.

Both the store and all online retail will be government-run.

“The only location that will be open is in Kamloops and this will be a provincial government operated store,” Thompson said. “There will be online sales available Oct. 17 from the provincial government, (but I) am not sure exactly how that will work,” he explained.

“And they will be the only ones to offer online sales from that day forward.”

So with private businesses cut out from online sales after Oct. 17 and no word on when the province will issue licences to retailers, at this point it’s a waiting game for potential retailers.

“We will not be open for retail cannabis sales until we receive our provincial government licence, and it is unclear how long the process will take,” Thompson said.

“My guess is on Oct.17, all current medical cannabis retailers will be closed until approval from their local and provincial governments.”

Medical sales will be available online and eventually filled by a pharmacist from a store such as Shoppers Drug Mart or Pharmasave, he said.

“Other than that, we are kind of in the dark with respect to opening day and product selection. Only rumours.”

Individuals can grow up to four plants in one household as of Oct. 17, and the ACMPR program (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations) will remain unchanged for now.

Regarding local enforcement, RCMP Sgt. Mike Wicentowich says the Trail detachment will be meeting with the owner/operator of every licenced dispensary in the Trail and greater area.

“The Trail Detachment will be monitoring each dispensary to ensure it has obtained a proper licence under the approved regulations and operates within the approved guidelines under Canadian law,” Sgt. Wicentowich told the Times. “The Trail detachment will confirm that proper security is in place in each dispensary … (and) will be paying particular attention to any reports of sales to minors and reports of anyone, or group of people, become ill from any marijuana products being sold.”

Those who operate without proper licencing may still be investigated criminally under the authority of the CDSA (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act).



Sheri Regnier

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