BC has received its second “legal” cannabis store and first private retailer- the Tamarack Cannabis Boutique in Kimberley, a quaint, Bavarian-themed (former mining) town in the East Kootenays that’s a 10-hour drive from Vancouver.
Tamarack Cannabis Boutique received its business license on Nov. 1. Prior to that, the store was known for being Canada’s first medical dispensary to get a municipal license from its city back in 2015.
As owner Tamara Duggan told Global News:
“The city of Kimberley was ahead of the pack when it came to looking at what the business was and looking at all the implications and decided because it was an unregulated, un-legislated area that they would support me in my application.
And in so doing we were actually — in spite of what a lot of news sources will say — we were the first, even though they might say that Vancouver was. But the record stands.”
On Halloween, the night before she was to receive her license from the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch, Mrs Duggan told the Vancouver Sun:
“I’m feeling a little thrilled right now. When I get that document in my hand, that’ll be a pretty exciting moment.”
On Oct. 17 aka Legalization Day, the store switched from selling medical cannabis to recreational cannabis, and now that it has its license, Tamarack Cannabis Boutique can begin sourcing its cannabis through the BC Liquor Distribution Branch, which is the only legal option for cannabis stores.
A message on Tamarack Cannabis Boutique’s website informs customers of its updated hours, saying, “We will be closed effective 5 pm on November 1st pending receipt of our government products. Stay tuned for our GRAND OPENING celebrations coming early November!”
The Tamarack Cannabis Boutique’s regular customers should expect to see some changes in terms of products, quantity, prices, and maybe even quality (especially considering the hit-or-miss nature of some licensed producers’ cannabis).
Kimberley mayor Don McCormick said Tamarack has the support of the community, as he has received zero complaints about the dispensary in the years that it’s been operating, telling the Vancouver Sun:
“Tamarack Dispensaries has been an awesome corporate citizen, they’ve been awesome for the community, and I think it’s only fitting that they would get the first commercial licence in the province”.
Featured image courtesy of Kimberley Bulletin.
Sources
Georgia Straight: Government of B.C. approves the first private adult-use cannabis dispensary.
Global News: Kimberley, B.C., dispensary gets green light as province’s first private cannabis shop.
Vancouver Sun: B.C.’s first private cannabis store licensed in Kimberley.