At last night’s (Sept. 18) city council meeting, mayor and councillors discussed policies surrounding the upcoming Oct. 17 federal legalization of cannabis.
Council directed City staff that they would allow the recreational sale of cannabis, and would endorse one provincial retail store in the downtown area. A publicly owned store would be regulated by the B.C. Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch.
A staff report given to council members said that City staff have been receiving “numerous” inquiries weekly on the City’s intentions for recreational cannabis stores.
Staff asked council to consider:
- whether the City should allow non-medical recreational cannabis stores in the city;
- whether there should be a limit on the number of stores in the community;
- where such stores should be located and what restrictions should be in place – including distance from schools and parks;
- and whether the City would allow provincial (public) stores – similar to B.C. liquor stores, private retail stores, or a mix of both.
In discussion, Mayor Simpson pointed out that the method for auditing private retailers is not clear.
“It’s difficult for us to find out who these [private retailers] are. … It appears as though the audit process for them to maintain their licence will be a phone call, ‘We’re coming in to take a look.’
“I think if we were going to go on the private side … we would need to understand how the Province is going to audit those retailers so that we don’t get a mix of illegal cannabis in with the legal cannabis, and we don’t get a situation where we have improperly trained front end staff.”
Coun. Sushil Thapar commented that the City should not completely ignore the recreational retail side.
“I think we should be open to something like B.C. Liquor. If that pans out, we can proceed to private ones. But the public one is the safe way of proceeding, because B.C. employees … there is no incentive to sell more or less. On the other hand the private ones – the more they sell, the more money in their pockets.”
Coun. Roodenburg and Coun. Ed Coleman endorsed the idea that a public store would be a safe way to move into the retail cannabis space locally.
Regardless of whether retail stores are given business licences in the City, recreational cannabis will be available through online retailers as of Oct. 17.
Councillors passed a motion to allow one public retail store in the City’s downtown core. The motion simply provides direction for City staff to proceed, but does not guarantee a retail store will be established in Quesnel.
Director of development services Tanya Turner said she would re-establish talks with the Province regarding a provincial recreational cannabis store.
The next steps will be for staff to draft a zoning policy regarding retail cannabis stores; a business licensing fee model; as well as creating an application review process, which will include consultation with the public.
Council also passed a motion to amend the Smoking Regulation Bylaw to include cannabis. Council chose to prohibit cannabis smoking in all public spaces, treating it the same as liquor, rather than cigarettes.
READ MORE: B.C. to have only one store selling cannabis on first day of legalization
editor@quesnelobserver.com
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