The haze over when the first provincially approved, fully licensed cannabis shop will open in Victoria still hasn’t cleared.
Following public input, the city this week issued letters of support for three of five applications: 603 Gorge Rd. East (Clarity Cannabis), 778 Fort St. (Cloud Nine Collective), and 1402 Douglas St. (The Original FARM).
But that doesn’t mean the provincial licensing process for those shops is over and they are cleared to open their doors.
For example, the Original FARM, which was the first cannabis retailer to be granted a business licence under the City of Victoria’s regulatory regime, still has to schedule a final inspection from the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch to obtain a provincial licence for its Douglas Street location, said Allan Lingwood, company head of compliance.
Only after that is done can FARM order product for sale.
“There’s been announcements made that haven’t come from us. We’re still just plugging away [on the licensing process],” Lingwood said.
Lingwood wouldn’t speculate on how much time that would take. “We keep imagining what that date might be and the ball keeps getting kicked further down the field, so at this time I’d prefer not to have anything on record of any statement pertaining to timeline,” he said.
Spokespeople for Clarity Cannabis or Cloud Nine could not be reached for comment.
Lingwood said FARM believes it has found a solution to the difficulties that arose with its Douglas Street store being located in a heritage building.
Under provincial rules, pot shops are required to be behind frosted glass.
But that clashes with city regulations for heritage buildings that require opaque windows.
FARM plans to hang historic imagery on plastic sheets inside the store’s exterior windows to obscure the view from the street, Lingwood said. “So there will be obstructed sight lines which is the requirement of the Liquor Cannabis Regulation Branch,” Lingwood said.
The city’s heritage regulations are that nothing be adhered to the exterior finishes, including windows, but if the plastic sheets are inset a few inches back from the window, it becomes a tenant improvement that doesn’t require a heritage alteration permit, he said.
FARM worked with heritage officials on the selection of imagery to be displayed.
Before the change in federal regulations legalizing recreational cannabis as of Oct. 17, Victoria had established its own zoning and licensing regulations for the many pot shops that were sprouting up around the city.
Once the federal regulations kicked in and the province was designated as the regulatory authority, many of those shops closed in order to apply for a provincial licence.
While several continue to operate without a provincial licence, the city’s position is it is up to the province to enforce its regulations, said Bill Eisenhauer, Victoria’s director of engagement. “People are supposed to have a provincial licence and if not, it’s up to the province to enforce.”
Meanwhile, Eisenhauer said that while the city has processed the five applications from private retailers, it has yet to receive an application for a provincial government cannabis retail store.
So far the only provincial cannabis store to open is in Kamloops.
