Frustration mounts for private retailers who want to sell cannabis in Vancouver area

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Nearly six months after the drug became legal, private marijuana sales have yet to be approved in the Lower Mainland.

Some retailers waiting for clearance from the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch say they’ve been told it could be months before Vancouver and other nearby cities can give buyers a legal alternative to what’s available on the black market.

Dana Larsen, who operates two dispensaries in Vancouver, says he’s not surprised only three of the 14 licences approved province-wide are in this region.

“It makes it impossible for these kind of shops to open,” he says. “The legal system should be able to out-compete the illegal dispensaries, but it’s regulated so poorly and so restrictively that the black market, I think, is going to thrive and serve a majority of Canadians with their cannabis, probably for many years to come.”

He adds there’s not enough cannabis in stock to supply all the retailers who have already been approved, so he’s not sure he wants to be part of this new system.

“It could be months and, like I said, I have mixed feelings about even joining into the legal system at this time because, if they gave me a permit tomorrow, I’m not sure I would want one. I think it would cause us a lot of problems and more importantly, cause our members and our patients increasingly reduced access, so if I were to go legit or able to get a permit, it would really mean cutting off thousands of people from medicinal cannabis access which isn’t something I’m particularly keen on doing.”

In a statement, the Ministry of the Attorney General tells NEWS 1130 there is no typical length of time for an application to be processed by the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch.

“This is because the opening of private non-medical cannabis retail stores depends on several factors including: the readiness of each individual applicant, the complexity of each application, and the readiness of a local government or Indigenous nation to accept notices of applications and return recommendations to the province,” the statement says. “Therefore, it is difficult to predict how long applications will take to process.”

Larsen says some small business owners have already leased space and their shops are sitting empty while they wait for approval.

“People think having a cannabis shop means you’ve got the golden ticket and you’re going to become a millionaire, but the reality is, getting a legal cannabis shop can mean huge financial challenges and potential bankruptcy.”

He adds the current system is not functional because some suppliers are sending products overseas to buyers willing to pay more for pot grown in Canada.

“So even with the small number of shops that are opened across Canada, some of them are closing, some of them are only able to be open certain days out of the week because there isn’t enough cannabis available to sell.”

Larsen says the only way to get rid of the black market is to offer readily-available, high quality, low-priced products.