HOW MANY FLOWER STORES do we have in Kamloops?
How many coffee shops or shoe stores?
You don’t know, do you? That’s understandable.
But by now, you are probably aware that the City of Kamloops has approved licenses for 12 retail cannabis stores.
And there has been a minor furor arising because of that volume of new approvals.
Part of that is because the legal market is starting from zero, but it’s understandable that cannabis is treated a little differently, because there is a potential social impact to cannabis use.
So let’s compare it to alcohol retail and service.
According to the City of Kamloops, there are no fewer than 28 liquor retailers within city limits.
When you add other outlets where alcohol is sold, the number balloons.
There are three businesses classified as cabarets or nightclubs, another 23 classified as neighbourhood pubs and 15 under the designation of lounge or private pub.
This last category includes such spots as the Royal Canadian Legion and the Anavets hall.
Add it all up, and that’s 69 spots to buy alcohol. Nice.
The total of 12 approved cannabis licenses to this point kind of pales in comparison.
Not only that, some of the 12 will not be granted licenses by the province.
And the biggest factor is that some of them will simply fail as businesses.
They’ve picked poor locations, they don’t have a readily available and reliable inventory supply lined up – there are a whole host of reasons why they won’t make it.
But each business owner has a right to spend $10,000 on a City of Kamloops license and take a shot at this new legal market.
Twelve new license approvals may seem like the start of an avalanche, but any thought that Kamloops will be overdosing on pot shops in the coming months is more smoke than fire.
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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.
