City of Kamloops staff think a third government cannabis store will be the last to open in the Tournament Capital.
A third store has opened today on Lansdowne Street downtown, and the city’s business license inspector Dave Jones says he thinks the BC Liquor Distribution Branch is looking elsewhere.
“I think their focus will be on the remaining parts of B.C., to see what other communities think and obviously can offer their services to. I think they’re working hard with municipalities across B.C. to get their stores to different locations,” Jones says.
“I know, from day one, there were a number of municipalities who weren’t sure if they were going to have any cannabis stores. They were reluctant to not only have private ones but also government ones. So I think province will now look at what they have out there, what they can venture further out to.”
There are now 11 government cannabis stores open around B.C., and eight more around the province are listed as “coming soon.”
As of Tuesday, Kamloops city council has supported 23 sales license applications for prospective local retailers; that number includes the three government stores.
Jones says six private stores are now open and nearly a dozen others have been approved in principle by the province.