Where the business licensing process is at for legal cannabis retail applicants in BC

Farnworth acknowledges there have been supply and demand issues so far. He says many producers have been working out how much product to put out, and where and when to disperse it.

“The challenges that I see in terms of encouraging the small scale producers that we’d like to see here in British Columbia, you know working with the federal government to make that a reality is a challenge,” Farnworth explains, “And then it’s just the small things with sometimes unintended consequences. Going ‘Okay, that’s stuff that should be looked at, or wasn’t considered’. So it’s very much an evolutionary process but I think by-in-large, the bulk of the public are happy with the way that legalization is proceeding.”

Farnworth says shutting down black market operations, and closing non-licensed dispensaries has been moving forward with the Community Safety Unit.

“Since legalization has taken place we were very clear from the beginning that as more and more legal stores came into the market, that enforcement would be wrapped up, and illegal stores would start being shut down.” he says, “The Community Safety Unit that is responsible for that is fully staffed now, and is in fact out doing education on existing stores that are illegal and has been going back and getting them to close down voluntarily, or in a number of cases, they have had product confiscated, and have been shut down.”

With over 500 applications in the queue, the approval of licensing paperwork has taken some time. According to the Minister, 144 private licenses have been issued, and seven government stores have been granted licenses.

Of those seven government licenses, two BC Cannabis stores are currently operating within Kamloops, with a third on the way sometime in the new year. Despite the number of government licenses approved in Kamloops before many of the private applications, Farnworth says those applicants have not received special treatment.

“The idea that the province is favouring government stores is just straight nonsense. The fact is that there have been 144 private licenses approved, and there’s another 30 Approved in Principle, that are literally at the final step, and only 7 government stores have actually been approved and opened up,” Farnworth explains, “So the idea that we’re favouring just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.”

Part of the reason for the long wait period applicants go through is due to the extensive background screening checks required for each business licence hopeful.

“There is a three-tiered level of screening and each step of that way, red flags could be raised that have to be examined,” says Farnworth, “And I know in some cases, and I can’t comment on specific applications, that the reason it has taken a long time is because the investigation – which is done independently of myself, I don’t direct it. It’s done by police and CSU – is that they’re finding issues that are of concern.”

If multiple people have partnered on one license application, background checks are still done for each individual.

“We said in this province that having operated a store prior to legalization would not preclude you from applying, but you could expect a significant background check because one of the key goals of course has been to make sure that organized crime is kept out of the legal system.”

City of Kamloops Business License Inspector Dave Jones says he is aware of some owners concerned with paying a lease on a building they cannot sell out of yet. Some have spent thousands in rental and leasing costs, without a store set up to make back that money.

“Unfortunately that’s a cost that they’ve incurred because they’ve chosen to take on that space. Obviously for the provincial process, they needed to supply an address to go with their license. And the only way to secure that address was to take on that lease.” Jones says, ” The province is doing their due diligence and taking a little longer than most applicants would think. However, if you think back to years ago, 8 months to a year for a liquor primary license was not uncommon. So this new cannabis license is based on the same principles so 8 months to a year isn’t uncommon.”

To help along the businesses waiting, Jones says the province recently made some changes.

“A month or two ago, the province had changed their process a little bit to help out some of the stores. Kamloops was one of those communities where we permitted building permits to be applied for in advance so there was not a hold up. Other communities chose to wait until they had an Approval in Process from the province, and there was a waiting time for them to go through that process,” Jones explains, “So the province is now approved in principle. If you pay your yearly fee, you actually get a license issued by the province.”

As of Thursday, Oct. 17 of this year, edible cannabis products now also have the legal, regulatory framework to be sold. However, Farnworth says he doesn’t expect to see edibles in retail outlets until January at the earliest.

While edibles can’t legally be on shelves until Health Canada approves a company’s product, Farnworth says like any other baked good, they can be made for individual use.

“What people do in their own home with their own cannabis, that’s their business, as long as they’re not trying to sell it to other people or give it away,” Farnworth says, “The reality around edibles though is that they are licensed by Health Canada. Over the next 60 days, companies that produce edibles are able to have their products evaluated to see whether or not it meets Health Canada’s guidelines, and will be able to be sold in legal retail outlets not just here in BC but right across the country.”

by Dylana Kneeshaw

Where the business licensing process is at for legal cannabis retail applicants in BC

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