Planning staff to conduct a detailed review which includes input from Delta Police

Delta council on Monday agreed to advance three new applications to open cannabis retail stores.

Noting it’s still early in the process, council voted in favour of a staff recommendation to forward the applications to the public notification and a detailed review stage.

Concern that a batch of Bud Coast – Saltspring OG Shark dried cannabis is contaminated with powdery mildew has prompted a voluntary recall of the product. Made by Joint Venture Craft Cannabis Inc., the 1,071 units were available in 3.5-gram packs, distributed by the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch and sold between Sept. 22 and Oct. 7.

Notes the Health Canada recall notice: “In certain individuals, exposure may result in allergic symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, wheezing, runny nose or nasal congestion, and watery or itchy eyes.”The notice advises that anyone who has purchased the product should immediately stop using it and either dispose of it safely or return it to where it was purchased.

They are three Interior producers who use their own unique methods to make three kinds of cannabis.

And Sarah Ballantyne cannot keep it on the shelves at her locally owned and operated Spiritleaf Vernon location. Her customers want the best, and it looks like no one grows it better than those in the Thompson Okanagan region.

“It’s important to get the message out there that they’re doing such a good job with it,” Ballantyne says. “It’s definitely a different class of product compared to some of the stuff we’ve seen over and over again over the last three years. They’re really different, and I sell out almost every week of those products. I have waiting lists for them.”

Three years ago, the legal consumption of marijuana became a reality across Canada. Every Canadian province quickly established its own set of sales guidelines, even if it took a bit longer to properly commercialize offerings such as edibles and cannabis-infused drinks.

The topic of marijuana was barely mentioned in the last federal election campaign. When Research Co. and Glacier Media asked British Columbians this month about their views on the current state of affairs, more than three in five (62%) agree with the decision to allow cannabis sales in Canada, down eight points since a survey conducted in July 2020.

A group of Okanagan cannabis retailers are calling for the resignation of B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.

In an open letter to Premier John Horgan, the Okanagan Cannabis Collective, says Farnworth has demonstrated he is “incapable” of handling the file.

“It is through his failed leadership that the industry has experienced unnecessary hardships, in particular as it relates to the proliferation of illegal brick and mortar and illegal online cannabis stores,” says the letter sent to Horgan on Wednesday.

Speaking on behalf of the collective, Spiritleaf Vernon owner Sarah Ballantyne said many legal retailers are struggling to survive due to rampant unlicensed pot shops.

Prospective and current cannabis dispensary owners in Vancouver will see the cost to obtain or renew a business licence next year drop by more than half the current rate — but the reduced fee will still be the most expensive in B.C., if not Canada.

Currently, cannabis operators in Vancouver pay a one-time application fee of $99 and $33,958 for a business licence for a total payout of $34,057, according to a city staff report that went before council this week.

Council unanimously approved Tuesday a staff recommendation that will see a new retailer in 2022 pay a one-time application fee of $2,500 and $13,500 for a business licence; an existing retailer will only pay the $13,500 fee to operate.

ima Cannabis, a B.C.-based recreational cannabis retail brand with one store in Abbotsford, B.C., and four more opening soon in the province, has acquired Ontario-based retailer, High Tea Cannabis Co. (High Tea). With AGCO approval of the deal through parent company T-CANN Retail Ltd., Jima is now a multi-location, national cannabis brand with a rapid expansion plan and a franchise and affiliate model.

As part of the agreement, Jima will add the Ontario High Tea stores located in Brampton, Scarborough, St. Thomas, York West, and Windsor into its network.

As part of the growth strategy, additional High Tea stores are set to open in the fall of 2021 in York, North York, Hamilton, Beamsville, and Petersburg.

A large-scale cannabis greenhouse operation in East Ladner has announced that it has signed an agreement with Langara College to support the Applied Science for the Canadian Cannabis Industry (ASCCI) research project. The agreement will provide opportunities for researchers and students to study cannabis using the latest technology, facilitate innovation and address questions that are important to the industry.

During the course of the five-year research project, which integrates chemistry, biology and bioinformatics, Pure Sunfarms’ experts will work with faculty members and students at Langara on research that will provide new data and insights for published research, and also help advance Pure Sunfarms’ product development strategy.