Nanaimo tokers to wait several months, at least, for legal retail sales
NANAIMO — It will be several months, if not longer, before you can buy cannabis from a legally operating retail store in Nanaimo.
Dozens lined up to buy bud from the only provincially-operated store in Kamloops Wednesday morning and thousands more made use of the province’s online marketplace. But in Nanaimo, it was largely business as usual, with a handful of dispensaries doing what they had been for some time — selling pot illegally.
There are an estimated 18 marijuana dispensaries in town and NanaimoNewsNOW connected with 10 of them. Six of those 10 said they would remain open after legalization took effect, while four said they would close up shop, leaving roughly 50 employees out of a job.
The City of Nanaimo will not even begin accepting applications for cannabis retail stores until Oct. 22. Even then, manager of current planning Lainya Rowett said it will likely take “several months or even up to a year” before any stores gain official approval.