Image Credit: CFJC Today
ILLEGAL SHOPS

Another illegal dispensary in Kamloops to shut its doors

May 15, 2019 | 6:00 AM

KAMLOOPS — Another illegal cannabis dispensary in Kamloops is expected to shut its doors today.

City of Kamloops business licence inspector Dave Jones says Boomer’s Buds, formerly the Phyven Herbal Dispensary, was served a cease and desist order but needed a push from the provincial safety unit to agree to close its doors.

“Phyven was given a cease and desist order quite some time ago. They had eventually closed their doors, I believe at the very first part of 2019. Unfortunately someone else, another operator in town, decided to take over that operation,” Jones says. “Again a cease and desist order was issued to those individuals… so working with the police, working with the provincial safety unit and myself, I’ve issued an order to the landlord.”

Jones says a combination of work between the City, the provincial safety unit and the police led to a visit with the owner and the planned shut down.

CFJC Today reached out to Boomer’s Buds on Victoria Street by phone, but the manager refused to comment on the matter.

At least one other illegal dispensary is still operating in the city — The Canadian Safe Cannabis Services on Tranquille Road.

A few other dispensaries show different results for whether they are still open or not, but Jones says there’s no set timeline on when they will close up shop.

“We work directly with the province and we will again, in the combination of enforcement, we’ll ensure that they eventually close their doors,” he says. “At this time the province is very similar to us, very educational, very informative… the province will obviously ask for that volunteer compliance and try to convince those folks to do the right thing, close their doors and make the applications to the province to sell cannabis legally.”

Jones says so far the City has not received any referrals from the province for any of the existing illegal dispensary locations.