Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

CITY POT SALES

Legalized: A look at the retail cannabis industry in Kamloops

Dec 15, 2020 | 5:03 PM

KAMLOOPS — On October 17th, 2018, Canada became the first G7 country in the world to legalize recreational and medicinal cannabis.

While other provinces were more prepared for the rollout of legal weed, Kamloops was the home to the only BC Cannabis Store in operation on Legalization Day.

On a brisk October morning twenty-six months ago, the green promise was realized. The BC Cannabis Store in Kamloops became the one and only place to purchase recreational cannabis — legally, that is. Over the past two years, a lot has changed.

“We now have twelve cannabis stores open in the city of Kamloops,” City Business License Inspector Dave Jones tells CFJC Today. “In the first year, year-and-a-half, we had twenty-two applications come to the city.”

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Many thought the cannabis industry would be the green version of the gold rush. According to Fiore Fresco owner Dino Bernardo, that hasn’t been the case, as he’s seen the market correct itself over the past two years.

“Everyone thought this was going to be a cash cow, from the federal government to the provincial government to the [cannabis] companies,” Bernardo says. “What we’re finding out now is that it’s not necessarily there. As you can see, some of the big producers have scaled down their operations.”

In March 2019, Chris Lyth became the first private retailer to open his doors in the city. He says business is steady, but still believes that many cannabis users are still getting their product the same way they did before legalization.

“It looks like about 50 per cent of the population still go to their ‘guy,’ the back alley or the grey market stores,” Lyth says.

If that number is correct, it could mean there’s still room for growth in the retail cannabis industry. Jones believes we can look to liquor sales for an example of how many stores the Kamloops market could bear.

“We have 29 liquor stores in Kamloops,” Jones says. “Obviously, business owners will determine what neighbourhood they’ll open in and whether there are enough people in the neighbourhood to service their store.”

For Lyth, that comparison to retail liquor sales is something to be examined. He’s hopeful as the industry grows, regulations are loosened.

Bernardo isn’t so sure there’s a need for more cannabis retailers in Kamloops — at least not yet.

“[Cannabis] is more of a unique product than liquor is,” Bernardo suggests. “People have been trained to have alcohol for the last forty, fifty years. This is something new. We have to teach consumers a lot of different things.”

Cannabis sales continue to reach record highs in 2020. During September in BC, Statistics Canada showed over $37.5 million in sales in the province. That’s an increase of more than $10 million since May. That growth is helping spur continued interest for potential cannabis entrepreneurs.

“We still have a lot of interest in Kamloops. We’ve had a number of phone calls, looking for more spaces to come available,” Jones says. “People are still looking to invest in this new culture and new business.”