The first private cannabis retail store in Kamloops has opened its door.
Owners of The Shore Cannabiz Shop on Tranquille Road Chris and Nadine Lyth were given their business licence from the city when they opened up at 9 a.m.
Business license inspector Dave Jones says the process for the Lyths has taken more than half a year, dating back to August when the province first started taking applications.
“His application came to the City of Kamloops at the end of October, and then of course at the end of January Chris got his approval in principle. And so, probably a month and a little bit more before he’s renovated and got the product in,” Jones says.
“For Chris, he’s had this dream for well over a year. And today it’s a reality and he’s very happy to open the store today.”
Apart from the two cannabis stores now open in Kamloops, there are 13 others city council have supported which have not yet opened. Six of those proposed stores are on the Tranquille corridor, and Jones says he thinks there could be up to eight in the area.
“Well I think on the Tranquille corridor which is a big zone, the CT1 which is a big zone, which can accommodate a number of stores because of our proximities,” he says. “And I think a number of the councillors have said ‘we wanted to give everybody an opportunity to come into this new business venture.’ And people have to do their business plan to determine whether they can do business.”