By Jill Sperling

Two more government cannabis stores approved by Kamloops Council

Nov 20, 2018 | 3:42 PM

KAMLOOPS — Two more retail cannabis licence applications came forward at a Kamloops City Council meeting Tuesday afternoon. 

The applications for two government stores, one at Lansdowne Village and the other at Northills Mall, were approved by council. 

The decision means Kamloops will have the first three government-owned cannabis stores in the province, including the one already open at the Columbia Place Shopping Centre. 

“The government is using Kamloops as a place to test some of their staffing models, some of their security models, certainly some of their supply issues,” said Mayor Ken Christian. “So, we have found with the brisk volume at the Columbia store that they’ve run out of product. I think what they’re trying to do is make sure that they’re going to have a retail model that’s sustainable across the province before they start opening up in other locations.” 

Christian says staffing has already been secured for all three government cannabis locations in Kamloops. 

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The city received very little correspondence, for or against the applications, especially compared to a private application that has already come before council. 

“We’ve had petitions upwards of 1,000 people signing against, we’ve had numerous people at the podium in previous instances,” Christian said. “But I think the public has come to accept that legalized cannabis is a reality in Canada and some of the concerns that they had about these stores bringing an undesirable element to neighbourhoods really haven’t come true. So, I think they’re now more willing to accept these just as they would a cold beer and wine store.”