Recreational marijuana will be sold in a network of standalone stores overseen by the province’s liquor regulator, according to rules announced Monday by the B.C. government.
Public health officials had warned against selling cannabis and alcohol in the same place, which is advice the province took seriously said Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general
When federal law makes recreational pot legal in July, there will be both privately-run and government-operated cannabis shops. They will not be allowed to sell alcohol, tobacco, clothes, gas or lottery tickets, although exceptions will be made for pot shops in rural areas.
Privately-run cannabis stores cannot brand themselves as a “pharmacy” “apothecary” or “dispensary” or use other words related to the selling of medicine.
The regulatory system for cannabis stores will be similar to that of liquor stores.
B.C.’s Liquor Distribution Branch will operate a standalone network of government-run retail stores and the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch will be responsible for licensing private stores and monitoring the retail sector.
The first government-run cannabis stores are to open by late summer and the online sale of pot is being considered.
All pot shops must purchase wholesale cannabis from the Liquor Distribution Branch, which will obtain cannabis from federally-licensed producers.
Retail prices have not been announced.
It will take regular inspection and enforcement to ensure marijuana retailers aren’t getting their supply from organized crime, Farnworth said. “If you’re found to be selling product that’s not from a licensed producer, you’re not going to be in business very long,” he said.
Someone with a criminal record is not excluded from operating a marijuana store but someone with ties to organized crime is.
The B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union, partnering with the B.C. Private Liquor Store Association, had pushed for cannabis to be sold in liquor stores.
The two groups said unionized liquor store employees would be well qualified to deal with the restrictions of selling cannabis since they already go through rigorous training to ensure alcohol doesn’t get into the hands of minors. Like alcohol, the legal age for buying cannabis will be 19.
“There isn’t any scientific evidence that shows that co-location [of cannabis and alcohol] is harmful,” said Paul Finch, treasurer for the union.
Andrew Gill, manager for Farmacy, one of the few cannabis stores with a business licence in Victoria, said he thinks it makes sense to sell cannabis and alcohol separately. “The one amplifies the other and the next thing you know, you’re beyond your limit,” Gill said. “When you stick the two things together like that and say ‘Don’t use them together,’ that seems a little preposterous.”
Gill said he’s happy that B.C. is not following in Ontario’s footsteps, where only the Liquor Control Board of Ontario will be authorized to sell cannabis in stand-alone stores.
Nova Scotia is the only province that has decided to sell cannabis alongside alcohol in government-run stores.
“So far, I’m kind of impressed,” Gill said. “I like that they’re not giving everything to the government right away. It’s nice they’re giving [private operators] a fighting chance.”
B.C. will not cap the number of retail licences available but will consult with local governments, which have the authority to set rules on where stores can operate.
The City of Victoria in 2016 created a regulatory regime that requires pot shops to be at least 200 metres away from a school and other cannabis retailers.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said it was a risk establishing rules for cannabis stores ahead of provincial and federal legislation, but that decision has put the city “ahead of the curve.”
“We’ll need to make little to no changes, from what I understand … to our legislative framework,” Helps said. “We’re happy to share our regulatory regime with every other local government in the province that’s now going to have to scramble to get something in place by July.”
The province is creating a 90-day driving prohibition for drug-affected driving, similar to the system that exists for drunk driving. The federal government is still running tests with a device that allows police to detect drug-impaired drivers by checking saliva.
The federal government has yet to pass a bill that toughens Canada’s impaired driving laws. Critics have raised concerns about Bill C-46, which would allow police to conduct random roadside tests without needing a reasonable suspicion that the driver is impaired.
Farnworth said the fact that the legislation is not in place is “a real concern” for the province.
New drivers will not be allowed to have any THC, a core compound in cannabis, in their system and neither the driver nor passenger will be allowed to consume cannabis in a vehicle.
Farnworth could not say how much the province will spend on setting up cannabis distribution or training police officers to nab drug-impaired driver but acknowledged the costs will be considerable. “Those who are looking at this as a cash cow for governments shouldn’t be looking at it that way.”
As with tobacco, unless there are specific restrictions, it will be legal to smoke pot in public.
Landlords and strata councils will be able to restrict tenants from smoking or growing non-medical cannabis in their units.
However, the rules mean that landlords will not be able prohibit existing tenants from smoking recreational marijuana if it’s not explicitly stated in their lease agreement, said David Hutniak, CEO of Landlord B.C., which represents rental property owners and managers. “We were looking for a complete ban [on smoking or growing recreational cannabis] and this is not a complete ban,” he said.
B.C. and other provinces have been tasked with crafting the rules for pot distribution before the federal government legalizes recreational marijuana in July.
Farnworth said July “is only the beginning of our journey and these changes will not happen overnight. We fully anticipate all levels of government will need to continue to assess and refine cannabis policy and regulation in the months and years to come.”
