A 3rd government cannabis retail store is likely to open in Kamloops before the end of the year, a similar timeline when additional pot products will be allowed in stores.

BC Liquor Distribution Branch Spokesperson Kate Bilney says they put out the call on Thursday to the 30 licensed producers to make submissions of interest with a deadline of September 11th. “The application can be intensive so we’re not sure how long it will take our producers to get us that and get a submission in, but as we receive them we will start reviewing them. And once September 11th rolls around we will putting our heads down, looking at those submissions and identifying the products that we would like to carry in our wholesale assortment.”

Despite October 17th being the day products like edibles, oils and extracts are legal, Bilney says that date is when health Canada can begin the 60 day process of approving them. “Once October 17th hits, the licensed producer can notify health Canada of the product their intending to sell and that 60 day period will start from the day that they provide that notice to Health Canada. The time frame is looking around to be late December.”

She says they “just want to give our licensed producers ample time to provide their submissions. A lot of them are already in the planning stages for what they will be developing under these new product regulations. So we just want to give them ample time to fill out their submission form which can be quite intensive. There is a lot of information that we do require.”

Bilney adds they are working on the third store which is set to open on Lansdowne mall. “Expect that store to be open before the end of the year. Obviously, you know that Kamloops City Council developed their regulations very early which allowed us to adhere to their by-laws and identify stores and we are certainly working very hard to identify potential locations across the province to open stores to service the entire BC market. We now have four stores open in total. Two in Kamloops, one in Campbell River and one in Cranbrook with more stores expected to open before the end of the year. We are aiming to open about 15 before the end of this year.”