BC New MJ law .
The government of British Columbia confirmed key details about its future legal cannabis regime Thursday, tabling two new laws that will govern the way cannabis is distributed, sold and used in the Pacific province.
Thursday's news fleshes out previous announcements by the B.C. government, including its decision to sell legal cannabis through both privately and publicly operated stores.
Wholesale cannabis distribution in B.C. will be operated by B.C.'s Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB), a government body.
Also on Thursday, the LDB announced that its chain of publicly operated recreational cannabis stores will be called, simply, BC Cannabis Stores. In a press release, the LDB said the name and branding elements "align with the BC Liquor Stores brand."
Those stores, along with their privately operated counterparts, will be allowed to sell up to 30 grams of dried cannabis bud to individual shoppers at one time, in line with the federal government's planned 30-gram limit on public possession of cannabis.
British Columbians will have to be at least 19 years old to purchase cannabis.
BC Cannabis Stores, however, will be the only legal online retailer of non-medical cannabis in the province. The publicly operated stores and online sales will be launched by the end of summer 2018, said the press release.
Advertisement New laws to impact existing cannabis dispensaries
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth couldn't say exactly how many retail locations would open across British Columbia.
"In terms of the number of stores, whether it's a public store or a private retail store, they're all going to have to get the permission of the local government," said Farnworth.
"If they can pull off a $250 million, world-leading cannabis warehouse that looks like Amazon from the future, and has a bunch of micro-climates for different humidity needs... I would love for British Columbia to have invented something that makes the royal Dutch flower auction look like a joke, but that's a technical challenge." — Ian Dawkins, president of the Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada on the B.C. government's marijuana storage and distribution plan
Publicly operated stores will be reflective of the local community in terms of size and will carry a range of products, he said.
The B.C. government also revealed how it will tackle existing illegal cannabis dispensaries that have proliferated across the province. A new "community safety unit," operated by the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety, will target those dispensaries.
Farnworth anticipated his ministry will need a number of inspectors to get that work done.
British Columbia will allow both privately and publicly-owned cannabis stores after legalization, with the latter named simply "BC Cannabis Stores." (Government of British Columbia)
"The bottom line is this: if you want to operate a retail (cannabis store) in British Columbia, you are going to have to get the approval of the local government, you are going to have to pass a background check and you are going to only be able to buy product from the approved wholesaler, which is the cannabis distribution branch, which is provincially owned," Farnworth said.
Although existing dispensaries will be able to apply for retail licences, there are no guarantees those applications will be successful, he said. Links to organized crime would preclude applicants from getting a licence, he noted.
"Minor offences are not going to prevent you from applying, but certainly a serious criminal offence such as trafficking, for example, would obviously get you ruled out."
The actual cost of cannabis sold at legal cannabis stores in B.C. remains unknown, said Farnworth.
"We are looking at all aspects of that, including the PST. We're mindful that the price needs to reflect the fact that one of the key elements of legalization is to reduce the impact (of) the influence of organized crime. We've also learned from other jurisdictions that if the tax rate is too high, you just drive people to the black market."
B.C. cannabis industry reacts to new laws
Ian Dawkins represents some existing B.C. dispensaries as president of the Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada. Those dispensaries would abide by B.C.'s new rules as they transition to the legal market, he said.
"Those are all very reasonable requirements, and in many cases our members are already meeting them," he said. "They have municipal licences or the tacit approval of the local municipality."
But depending on how the B.C. government defines "trafficking," many existing dispensaries could be left out of the legal regime, he said.
"When minister Farnworth talks about banning people for trafficking convictions, I hope he's talking about international cocaine smuggling... as opposed to just merely being a cannabis dealer. The whole point of legalization is that we're admitting that making those people criminals was stupid," Dawkins said.
Dawkins also expressed concern B.C.'s provincially-owned cannabis distributor plans to physically warehouse large amounts of cannabis before shipping it out to the new, legal stores, describing it as "a really disastrous misstep."
"What they're proposing to do, with no hyperbole, has never been done in the world before," said Dawkins, who argues the logistical complexities of properly storing and shipping cannabis could be beyond the province's abilities.
"If they can pull off a $250 million, world-leading cannabis warehouse that looks like Amazon from the future, and has a bunch of micro-climates for different humidity needs... I would love for British Columbia to have invented something that makes the royal Dutch flower auction look like a joke, but that's a technical challenge."
Dan Sutton, founder and CEO of licensed cannabis producer Tantalus Labs in Maple Ridge, B.C., said the provincial government's Liquor Distribution Branch faces a lot of work to become an effective cannabis distributor.
Thursday's announcement on cannabis legalization in B.C. clarifies details released by B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth in February. (The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito)
"I'm a proponent of reforming that single distribution point," said Sutton. "I think that the B.C. LDB is and should be entitled to distribute to public stores, but in the integration of private retail, it's reasonable to actually allow retailers and suppliers to deal directly with each other."
Sutton expects the most well-operated dispensaries in B.C. to make the cut and join the legal cannabis market.
"There are also some dispensaries that don't deserve to make the cut, and only a merit-based application process is going to effectively separate the wheat from the chaff."
Further restrictions on legal cannabis in B.C.
Amendments to B.C.'s Motor Vehicle Act will toughen provincial regulations to further deter drug-affected driving, said B.C. Solicitor General Farnworth on Thursday, including a 90-day administrative driving prohibition for drug-affected driving and a zero-THC policy for novice drivers.
Farnworth called out the federal government for ongoing uncertainty over how police will enforce a new cannabis-impaired driving law after legalization.
That law, Bill C-46, is currently being studied by the Senate.
"We are waiting on that because that is going to shape a lot of the regulations around the kind of technology that they intend to use," he said. "And it's something that we believe needs to be communicated to the provinces, like, ASAP. The feds have told us that there is technology that they are confident in, but we still have yet to know exactly what it is."
Farnworth noted there's still a great deal of uncertainty about when cannabis will actually be legalized by the federal government.
"This is a major, significant change in public policy, not just here in British Columbia, but right across the country. You think you've identified everything, you think that you've got all the issues covered, but it's like any piece of legislation in any significant policy change like this — there will be things that were potentially unanticipated," he said.
Like many other provinces, British Columbia plans to prevent cannabis smoking and vaping in most places, including outdoor public spaces, parks, recreational areas and vehicles. Bill 30 also contains restrictions in the areas of indoor smoking and vaping, including indoor public spaces, workplaces and apartment building common areas.
Although B.C. will allow adults to grow up to four cannabis plants for non-medical purposes at home, Bill 30 specifies that those plants must be grown from legally obtained seeds or clones and must be kept out of view from public places.
B.C. police will also have the power to arrest a person who is "intoxicated from cannabis" in a public space.
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