Six months after cannabis was legalized B.C.’s Public Safety minister says his promised marijuana enforcement team has now been deployed.

Mike Farnworth says the cannabis enforcement team is out in communities but he says in dealing with the illegal pot businesses they are tasked with shutting down so far it is more the carrot than the stick.

“I think right now what they have been doing is what you could call education visiting illegal operations and letting them know the unit is up and running. As I have said previously as more stores come online they are going to be ramping up. They are now up and running and they are out starting to do the work that they need to be doing.”

Farnworth was asked how many officers the enforcement unit is currently fielding.

“When it is up full strength we are looking at about 44 throughout the province.”

So if it is not fully staffed how many are in the squad?

“What I can tell you is that we are at enough of a strength in terms of people trained and a structure in place that they are able to actually now be out in communities and starting to have a visible profile.”

The 44-member team was announced in October when pot was legalized across Canada.