If all goes to plan for an Okanagan-based cannabis company, Smithers could be getting a second cannabis dispensary.
At their Mar. 10 meeting the Town held a public hearing on the topic of a Cannabis Retail License Application by Mojo Cannabis to the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB).
The company is proposing to build a non-medical cannabis retail store at 1180 Main Street.
READ MORE: Smithers cannabis shop announces Oct. 17 opening
No members from the public came out to speak to the meeting, however one resident did send in a letter saying they had concerns about the business’ proposed hours of operation of 9:00 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.
Council ended up voting unanimously to recommend to the LCRB that they approve the request.
In discussing his support for the motion Coun. Frank Wray said he felt as long as applications met all the regulatory requirements for an application it shouldn’t be up to the town to try to limit the amount of dispensaries.
“We have a fairly limited geographic area and if we have too many marijuana shops something will happen,” he said, noting that the Town used to have five liquor stores.
Wray also addressed the letter the town received prior to the public hearing regarding hours of operation.
“The 9-to-11 hours are actually what were approved for Rural Leaf as well and so they have that option to use those hours,” said Wray. “I think it’s only fair to offer the same hours to this applicant as well.”
The Town’s recommendations come with a number of conditions.
These include the business being designed in a way so the storage, display and transactions of cannabis can’t be seen from outside of the store and the assurance no images of cannabis products will be displayed on the exterior of the building.
Both the RCMP and SD54 told the Town they have no objections to the application.
Smithers first dispensary opened on Oct. 17, 2019 — the one year anniversary of the legalization of cannabis in Canada.
trevor.hewitt@interior-news.com
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