Vancouver Island’s first BC Cannabis Store to open next week

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http://www.oakbaynews.com

MARISSA TIEL

Jul. 25, 2019

Vancouver Island’s first BC Cannabis Store is set to open in Campbell River on July 31. The first location opened in Kamloops last fall. Black Press file photo Vancouver Island’s first BC Cannabis Store is set to open in Campbell River on July 31. The first location opened in Kamloops last fall. Black Press File Photo

 

Vancouver Island will soon have its first BC Cannabis Store.

The Campbell River location at Discovery Harbour Shopping Centre is set to open its doors to the public at 10 a.m. on July 31.

“We are looking forward to opening a BC Cannabis Store in Campbell River, as we continue our efforts to roll out our network of retail stores and service the province,” said Kevin Satterfield, director of retail operations, cannabis operations. “BC Cannabis Stores is committed to being a good neighbour and integrating into the Campbell River community.”

The store’s regular hours will see it open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

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B.C. VIEWS: Will the NDP lose money selling marijuana?

“Mr. Fletcher is obviously not the most astute crayon in the BC box of crayons, as he does not understand that sometimes you must break the law in order to eliminate archaic and inefficient laws. Or, he has a political agenda. Is he planning a run for the BC Liberals? When laws are disobeyed by the general population it is time to change them. People rule Mr. Fletcher, not the laws.

After calling Victoria council “famously inept” Mr. Fletcher loses all his objective credibility, but I’ll still post his words in order to keep the debate balanced.

“Here in Victoria, retail stores started opening up years ago, usually with some token nod to “medical” customers, and our famously inept city council started issuing business licenses well in advance of federal legalization.”

I wonder if he even lives in Victoria. Does he even understand the complexities of cannabis or was he writing this under the influence of a cold brewed one?

B.C.’s first government cannabis store opens in Kamloops, October 2018. The city is getting two more government stores this year. (Black Press files)

Government monopoly sounds great, if you work there

http://www.oakbaynews.com

TOM FLETCHER

Jul. 13, 2019

Licensed private marijuana stores are finally starting to flower in B.C., with StarBud launching in the Okanagan and Clarity Cannabis aiming for a September opening in Prince Rupert, among others.

Meanwhile, the (cough) informal marijuana market seems to be rolling along as B.C. wanders toward the first anniversary of cannabis legalization. Here in Victoria, retail stores started opening up years ago, usually with some token nod to “medical” customers, and our famously inept city council started issuing business licences well in advance of federal legalization.

Why? Well, Vancouver was doing it, and in both of these Left Coast social laboratories, federal laws may be viewed more as suggestions. (For example, just declare yourself a “sanctuary city” and instruct your police not to inquire into anyone’s citizenship status. Poof, no more Canadian immigration law.)

In the weed business, illegal operators seem to be doing better than federal and provincial wholesale monopolies. In some cities, consumers have no ready way to tell if a pot store is provincially approved, or has even bothered with a business licence.

Government competition has caused the black market to sharpen its pencils. Statistics Canada estimates that as legal weed prices rise above $10 a gram, illegal producers are cutting consumer costs down towards $5.

The B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch is doing a great job on its slick-looking retail chain – in Kamloops, anyway. The home of the first B.C. Cannabis Store is about to get two more, and people are lining up to apply for the intensive training offered for unionized “budtenders.”

Anticipating the price problem, the LDB was restrained to a mere 15 per cent wholesale markup. Its monopoly on federally-licensed suppliers is an extension of its liquor wholesale monopoly, which marks up a bottle of hard liquor by 124 per cent, whether it’s sold in a public or private retail store. Then you pay taxes on top of that.

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https://www.oakbaynews.com/opinion/b-c-views-will-the-ndp-lose-money-selling-marijuana/