BC’s Solicitor General says he is frustrated about the slow roll-out for cannabis stores in the province, nine months after legalization.
Mike Farnworth would like to see more stores open in B.C., but he says there are a number of checks that applicants have to jump through before they can get a licence.
“We have a significant number of applicants and that had been an issue with a number of applications that hits come up requiring deeper checks on the criminal background end of things,” he said. “We’d like to get more stores up running faster and we are looking at ways in which we can speed that process up.”
On NL Newsday, Farnworth said with 40 private stores and only two government stores, the province isn’t picking favourites. He noted government stores don’t need criminal background checks, unlike private stores, hence the slow roll-out of those licences.
“So in that sense, it’s not an apples to apples comparison,” said Farnworth. “But in terms of the rezoning process, it has to go through exactly the same rezoning process as a private store. It doesn’t get any special treatment otherwise.”
He says unlike some other provinces that have approved stores left, right, and centre, B.C. has had a thriving cannabis industry prior to legalization.
“One of the goals with legalization in this province in particular, is how do we ensure we are able to keep organized crime out, which has been involved in the industry for a long time,” Farnworth added. “And is there an opportunity to bring in out of the grey market, people who can operate legally who don’t have ties to criminal organizations.”
Concerns were raised by some people – including Kamloops councillor Mike O’Reilly and Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone after a second government store opened in Kamloops last week compared to just one private store.