Five pot shops hoping to open in Kamloops after legalization

KAMLOOPS – Legalization of cannabis in Canada is still a few weeks away, but hopeful dispensary owners are already trying to get their foot in the door in Kamloops.

Including the already proposed government-run marijuana dispensary slated to open in Kamloops next month, planning and development manager with the City of Kamloops, Rod Martin, says three government store applications and two private applications have been referred from the province to the city for proposed stores.

The city announced that it would begin accepting referrals from the province last week.

Hopeful dispensary owners must first apply through the province, and once that's referred to the city they must make another application through the city. That will then go in front of city council for a vote on the application, and then the resolution goes back to the province for final approval, Martin says.

The proposed government-operated dispensary is planning on opening Oct. 17, the day after council hears the application for it. That day also marks when cannabis is proposed to be legalized in the country.

To learn more about the City of Kamloops's application process for retail cannabis sales, go here.

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