A BC cannabis retailer is partnering with a Vancouver-based Web3 company to develop a virtual cannabis store experience. 

ARCannabis, a retail cannabis chain in BC with seven locations, has teamed up with Vancouver’s Metasphere Labs Inc., which recently announced its plans to create an “online cannabis shopping experience with the use of advanced virtual reality (VR) technology.” 

The plan is still in the early stages, as the two companies just signed an agreement on June 21. The goal is to develop a platform for consumers to visit a virtual, 3D version of an ARCannabis store, guided by a virtual budtender, to make actual purchases that can be delivered or picked up. 

The new VR virtual store will integrate with ARCannabis’ existing backend shopping cart system, powered by another Vancouver tech company, Cova Software. The virtual experience will build on ARCannabis’ current online shopping platform, and provide a chance to interact with that platform in a fully immersive way. 

In a press release, Metasphere says the store is also being designed to be embeddable in open metaverse environments and gaming platforms like Fortnite, subject to their terms of service, and presumably with age-gating in place. 

“We are thrilled to partner with ARCannabis to bring their vision of a VR virtual store to life,” said Natasha Ingram, CEO of Metasphere Labs. “Our expertise in developing immersive metaverse environments aligns perfectly with AR Cannabis’ innovative approach to retail. This collaboration will set a new standard for the online shopping experience in the cannabis industry.”

Metasphere says it expects the platform to be completed by September 2024.

“We are excited to work with Metasphere Labs to enhance our customers’ shopping experience,” said Joe Le, Co-Founder of ARCannabis. “This VR virtual store will not only showcase our products in a unique and engaging way but also reinforce our commitment to leveraging technology to improve customer satisfaction.”

A BC court has ruled that a community’s rejection of a retail cannabis licence was not unreasonable following an appeal by the retail applicant. 

The appeal was before the Supreme Court of BC in relation to a 2022 application for a cannabis store to operate with a provincial licence in the Village of Ganges on Salt Spring Island.

In a town hall meeting on June 22, 2023, the applicant, Canna Northwest Enterprises Inc., had their application denied by the Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee (LTC) based on its location’s proximity to schools, a public library, and a public park.

The applicant appealed the decision, seeking a judicial review with the court, arguing the decision was unreasonable and was based on protecting another previously approved cannabis store. 

Several attendees at the town hall meeting expressed concern with both the location of the proposed store and concern that the small community did not need more than one cannabis store. Another store, The Harvest Moon, had been approved by the LTC in April 2020 and is located about one kilometre from the new applicant. Employees of The Harvest Moon spoke out against the new application in the town hall alongside other community members.

In 2021, Salt Spring Island’s population was listed as about 12,000.

The Licensed Retail Cannabis Council of BC (LRCCBC) also provided a submission to the LTC, which, while not taking a specific position on the application, referred to factors such as the inability of regulated retailers to differentiate themselves through pricing or marketing; the problem of excess concentration of retail operations in given locations; and “exceptionally low” profit margins.

The location of the proposed store was previously home to an unlicensed cannabis store: in 2019, Leaf Compassion Cannabis applied for a licence. At the time, there was no opposition to the location by the community, with the local Advisory Planning Commission recommending that the LTC support the application. 

However, once the supported application was forwarded to the provincial government for approval, the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) did not approve the licence. Leaf Compassion’s website now redirects to an unregulated online cannabis store called Barely Legal.

Applications for retail cannabis licences in BC must be approved by both the province and the municipality. 

Arguing for the licence, the applicant’s principal, Mr. Chouinard, submitted a petition to the LTC in support of the application with 90 signatures. Chouinard argued that he was not made aware of concerns regarding location prior to the town hall meeting, was not given notice that the application would be discussed during the town hall, and was not given a meaningful opportunity during the meeting to address the issue of location.

The ruling Justice in the appeal countered these points, noting that concerns with the location had been communicated to the applicant, and that he had had the opportunity to attend any town halls where his application was discussed. 

In his final ruling, Justice A. Saunders ruled that the council’s denial of the application was not unreasonable, and the petitioner was not deprived of procedural fairness.

Featured image via Google Maps

The employees at two new Trees Cannabis locations in BC have recently joined a union representing cannabis industry budtenders. 

Workers at two Trees Cannabis locations in Nanaimo have joined their colleagues at other locations across Vancouver Island by joining United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1518, also known as the BC Budtenders Union. The two new locations make Trees Cannabis British Columbia’s first private unionized cannabis chain.

Workers at the two Trees locations in Victoria first joined the BC Budtenders Union in 2021, following employees at Clarity Cannabis being the first to join in 2020. The second two Trees locations recently joined them in solidarity, according to a press release from the union. 

“We are proud to welcome UFCW 1518’s newest members as they make history by organizing as the province’s first private wall-to-wall unionized cannabis chain.” says UFCW 1518 President Kim Novak. “These workers are setting a new standard for the cannabis industry, and we anticipate that their achievement will send shockwaves across the cannabis labour landscape, empowering workers across Canada to demand fairness and respect in their own workplaces.”

As of the certification at the Trees locations in Nanaimo, The BC Budtenders Union now represents workers at nine cannabis businesses and 16 locations.

Fifteen of these locations are cannabis stores. It also represents workers at a cannabis production facility in BC,  the first cannabis production facility to successfully unionize in Canada, following a 2020 court ruling that found the company had unfairly penalized workers for trying to unionize. 

A third Trees location in Victoria joined the union in 2023, but the location is now closed. In 2020, employees at a cannabis store in Vancouver quietly voted to decertify the union a few months after joining, meaning the BC Budtenders Union no longer acts as their bargaining agent. 

In March of this year, a recently opened Canna Cabana location in Vancouver also joined the union, and members at The Original Farm recently approved their latest contract with the union.

In a post on the union’s Facebook page, it says the two-year contract includes a 6.5% wage increase, retroactive pay on all wage increases to November 11, 2023, doubling the Call-in premium to $1.00 per hour, and “timely and fair redistribution of cannabis samples from sales reps.”

BC began allowing producers to provide samples to retailers in 2023.

Trees Cannabis also has five locations in Ontario. In December 2023, Trees announced that it and its subsidiaries would be filing for creditor protection under the CCAA. The group had been seeking additional financing to keep it operating. On December 22, 2023, Trees was granted creditor protection. 

Then, in January, a court-appointed monitor of Trees Corporation began conducting a sale and investment solicitation process for the cannabis company. 

The city of Surrey, BC, which has banned cannabis stores since the beginning of legalization, will again be considering a proposal to allow up to 12 cannabis stores in the city.

In 2023, Surrey City Council began exploring the possibility of allowing cannabis stores, directing city staff to develop a plan. In July of that year, council sent a plan back to city staff to be reworked to address some councillors’ concerns. 

A survey then went out to the public about the proposed plan for up to 12 locations in the city, two for each of six distinct communities: Whalley/City Centre, Guildford, Fleetwood, Newton, South Surrey, and Cloverdale.

The survey results are now available, and Surrey City Council could address the report as early as April 8, the next scheduled council meeting. 

Under the proposed plan, city staff would inform retail cannabis applicants of the results of Surrey’s Request for Expression of Interest (RFEOI) selection process. Up to two applications would then advance to city council for consideration of their site-specific rezoning, including a public hearing, before the possibility of a licence being awarded. 

Retail licences also must receive approval from the provincial government. 

More than 4,000 people responded to the survey, with 96% living in Surrey. About 68% of respondents said they supported having 12 or more cannabis stores in the city. The 47% who strongly disagreed with the proposal said they felt setting a limit of 12 stores was too little, while just 38% of those who disagreed said it was too many. 

There were similar results when respondents were asked about the proposed limit of no more than two stores per community in Surrey. 

Those supporting more stores in Surrey didn’t necessarily mean they were cannabis consumers, though. Of those who supported having 12 or more pot shops in Surrey, just over half (52%) said they visit stores in other communities or purchase cannabis online, and 51% said they would buy from a store in Surrey.

Related Articles

Surrey releases proposal for up to 12 cannabis stores in BC’s second largest city

January 24, 2024

Surrey city council votes to refer report on cannabis back to city staff

July 24, 2023

Surrey City Council to consider framework to approve cannabis stores

July 23, 2023

A cannabis store in Kelowna, BC, will have to close for a week in April after an employee was alleged to have sold cannabis to a minor.

The minor worked for BC’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) as part of the province’s Minors as Agents Program (MAP).

The penalty for such an offence is a minimum $7,000 fine or closing the business for seven days. The store, Prime Cannabis, opted for the seven days, scheduled to begin on April 3, 2024.

The incident occurred during an LCRB inspection on November 30, 2023.  Following standard procedure for such a visit, an adult inspector conducted an in-store risk assessment before giving the 16-year-old minor agent the clearance to enter the store. 

The minor entered the store and purchased a single pack of cannabis-infused gummies, paying cash. The employee working at the time did not check her ID. Upon leaving the store, the minor handed the product to one of the two adult LCRB agents. The other agent re-entered the store to inform the employee that they had just sold cannabis to a minor, an offence under BC’s regulations.

In their defence, the owner of Prime Cannabis, which has two other locations in addition to the Kelowna store, one in West Kelowna and one in Cranbrook, says they have internal policies instructing employees to check IDs. However, the March 6 ruling concluded that the store’s owner had not taken enough steps to ensure employees properly followed such rules. 

One oversight noted in the ruling was a lack of a written checklist that can demonstrate proof of the content of in-store training and the time spent on various topics.

“I note the absence of written documentation: no training checklist, no written quizzes, no printed text messages about ongoing reminders,” states the final ruling. “A written checklist is particularly important when staff in the three stores are being trained by different people. Signing off on a checklist by both the trainer and the trainee can demonstrate what topics were followed and the time spent on each.”

The licensee can apply for a reconsideration of the compliance order within 30 days of receiving a copy of the ruling. 

Prime Cannabis is not the first cannabis store to be caught up in the MAPs program. In February of this year, another cannabis store in Kelowna was issued a $7,000 fine for failing to check the ID of a minor in the BC government’s program. The targeted inspection was in July 2023.

BC is sometimes more lenient in its rulings. In a case heard in 2023, ​​it was found that a cannabis retailer was not responsible when an employee failed to check the ID of a customer. This was because the store demonstrated that it had an extensive training program in place. 

While the employee was fired for their oversight, the retailer, in that instance, did not have to face a $7,000 monetary penalty or shut down for seven days.

“Prime Cannabis takes full ownership over our mistake in not ID’ing and serving a minor,” said Rob Anderson, the owner of Prime Cannabis in an email to StratCann. “We take ID’ing very seriously and have increased our minimum age to ID to 40 years old. We self-audit ourselves regularly through secret shoppers. Ultimately, there is no excuse and we own our mistake.  

“We regret the inconvenience we will cause our customers not being able to provide them with product during the week of closure.  We hope our customers will continue to support us, and we will be offering a 10% discount the entire week of reopening after serving our licence suspension.”

A cannabis store in Penticton hopes to become one of the first cannabis stores in the province with a designated consumption area. 

Cannabis Cottage, located in downtown Penticton, says it hopes to have its grand opening for the outdoor consumption space on April 20, bringing in food trucks, local artists, and performers.

The store owner, Marianna Wolff, says she chose the location for her store, on a major thoroughfare in the city’s downtown, because it had a large front yard that could serve as a lounge space for customers. 

Initially, BC’s rules did not allow for such a consumption space, but a rule change announced in February of this year finally made it possible. That rule change made it so that existing patio spaces where smoking and vaping of tobacco products are allowed can now also allow cannabis use. 

It also made it so that cannabis stores, like Cannabis Cottage, can advertise consumption spaces. BC first engaged the public about these proposed changes in 2023 as part of a broader industry outreach initiative.

“We are totally thrilled,” says Wolff. “This was what we were hoping to do from the beginning. We secured a space with the hope that at some point the government would allow for consumption spaces as well. So right now we’re just jumping over the moon.”

She says she has worked with her neighbours, which includes a church, to ensure they are okay with the use of the outdoor space as a lounge. All of them gave their approval. The parish members did ask that no consumption occur during the operating hours of its Sunday School, something Wolff said she was happy to accommodate. 

She says she chose the space specifically because it was not near areas like parks or schools, and would have the approval of its neighbours. 

“The spot itself I feel is very indicative of spaces that can be good candidates for outdoor cannabis consumption without disrupting anybody who doesn’t necessarily want to have to smell it.”

Cannabis Cottage first experimented with bringing in local food trucks during a customer appreciation event last fall.

“It was very successful. It was a great show of how you can have designated space for people to enjoy their cannabis in a similar way that you might go to a brewery and enjoy a beer or go to a winery patio and enjoy a glass of wine.”

The format is similar to one taken by a cannabis retailer in Cumberland, BC, on Vancouver Island. 

Max Oudendag has been assisting Michael Arneja, the owner of Cumberland, BC’s Trugreen Cannabis, on a large outdoor community space that will include a formal cannabis consumption area.

“We’re excited to be in a position to explore how to break down the stigma of cannabis consumption and find a way to integrate that into a healthy community gathering space,” Oudendag told StratCann late last year.

Like the pop-up event Cannabis Cottage held last fall, Trugreen held several pop-ups in 2023 as a test run for their project, which they say they have been working hand-in-hand with the province to develop. 

Arneja says they also plan on launching a grand opening for the first stage of their outdoor consumption space in Cumberland on April 20, as well.

His vision extends beyond the mere creation of a cannabis consumption area, instead seeking to nurture “a stigma-free space where the community can gather and celebrate the cannabis culture with a responsible blend of cannabis use and community building.”

“We’ve been operating these pop-ups to see what the space could look like, and to get feedback from the community on what they want it to look like,” he adds, highlighting the project’s community-driven nature.

Sam Jones, the owner of 2% Jazz Coffee, a cafe in Victoria, says that beginning in April his store will be hosting monthly cannabis-themed events, as well. 

“It’s a very casual affair,” explains Jones. “There’s no smoking indoors at all. No buying, nothing like that. It’s just an open cafe where people can go out on the patio and smoke a joint. Then you can come back in and enjoy a coffee and some good conversation. 

Instead, he works with local cannabis companies who help host the event, which can serve as a learning session for those interested. The coffee shop will also be hosting a cannabis seed exchange on the last Friday in March.

“We just want to provide a space where the idea of having a joint can be normalized.”

-Note: This article was edited to include information on the 2% Jazz Coffee.

Related Articles

BC releases What We Heard report on cannabis consumption spaces

January 10, 2023

BC seeking feedback on cannabis consumption spaces for cafes, festivals, spas, and more

April 6, 2022

BC: Report on cannabis consumption spaces by end of year

June 22, 2022

Following a nearly three-year wait, Burb Cannabis was finally able to open its new location near the University of British Columbia on Friday, February 23.

The new store, at 5784 University Blvd., is located just outside campus boundaries but represents the closest cannabis store to the University. 

The application for the location had received pushback from some in the community who argued such a store didn’t fit the neighbourhood and would put students at risk. However, a Metro Vancouver committee voted to approve the application earlier this month, sending it to the MVRD Board for the final decision.

BC Premier David Eby, when he was still the BC Attorney General, was among those who spoke out against the location at the time.

However, the UBC student union was supportive, with Alma Mater Society president Eshana Bhangu noting that there are multiple liquor stores close to campus that face no such community concerns. 

A small handful of local media organizations attended the grand opening, with the Vancouver Sun reporting that John Kaye, co-founder and CEO of Burb, welcomed a gathered crowd, saying, “Let’s cut the ribbon, let’s get high.” 

This is the final store Burb can currently open in BC. The province has a cap of eight stores per owner, although it is currently considering raising that to some degree. 

Kaye tells StratCann he’s supportive of raising the cap, especially since the BC government’s own BC Cannabis Stores are not capped in the same way. 

“We’re very supportive of raising the current eight store cap in BC, and feel the new cap should be 16. There are 36 BC Cannabis Stores. How is that fair?” 

The new store will operate Monday through Saturday from 9am to 11pm, and Sunday from 10am to 10pm.

“Our focus is on offering the best menu possible, with exclusive products you’ll only find at Burb, such the Jellee hand-rolled hash-holes, Book Club Exclusives, and limited run merchandise and accessories,” stated Peter Pittson, general manager at Burb UBC and Co-Founder of Book Club, a cannabis community and products company.

Related Articles

Burb Cannabis receives final approval from MVRD for store near UBC

June 27, 2022

Proposed cannabis store near UBC receives approval from committee

June 9, 2022

Surrey Board of Trade says its time for cannabis stores in the city

March 1, 2023

It was an expensive Valentine’s Day for one cannabis store in Kelowna when a judge ordered them to pay a $7,000 fine for an employee forgetting to check ID.

Kiaro Cannabis in Kelowna was subject to a targeted inspection in July 2023 in which an underage agent was sold a package of cannabis gummies. The employees on duty did not ask for the minor agent’s ID or their age. 

In rendering their decision, the general manager of the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) ruled that store management did not take proper actions to ensure staff were properly checking ID, leading to the decision to implement the penalty of a $7,000 fine. 

For a first offence of this type, which was the case here, BC has a range of penalties, such as a licence suspension for seven to eleven days and/or a monetary penalty of $7,000-$11,000.  

Kiaro operates four Cannabis retail stores in BC, including the Kelowna location, as well as Vancouver, Port Moody, and Victoria. 

BC’s Minors as Agents Program (MAP) utilizes young people under the age of 19 to test if cannabis and liquor stores in BC are checking IDs. The program works with two adult agents and one minor. One adult agent first enters the store to assess if it’s safe for the minor to enter. If deemed safe, the minor then enters the store and selects a product to buy. 

If the purchase is made successfully, the minor agent then returns to a car where the second adult agent awaits to collect the product. At the same time, the first adult agent communicates the action to the store employees on duty. 

In this case, the Branch alleged that the minor agent purchased a five-pack of Strawberry Mango SOURZ by Spinach for about $7. The store clerk, later identified as the manager on duty, sold the product to the minor. 

In their defence, representatives for Kiaro discussed the chain’s internal policies for staff training and practices for checking ID. In their ruling, the Branch determined that the store had provided evidence that it had an adequate training program and an effective ID policy for teaching all its employees when and how to request ID. However, it also ruled that there was little evidence about how the policies are being implemented in the Kelowna store where the infringement occurred. 

The store noted that the manager on duty who sold the cannabis to the minor was suspended without pay for five days and had a written warning added to their file.

Ultimately, BC determined that the store had not demonstrated due diligence in ensuring its policies were being properly taught and executed in its stores. The Branch also recommended that the licensee consider introducing a pop-up question on its point of sale system where an employee must answer yes or no to “have you asked for ID?” before being able to complete a sale.

The retailer may now apply for a reconsideration of this compliance order in accordance with BC law, within 30 days. 

BC is sometimes more lenient in its rulings. In a case heard in 2023, ​​it was found that a cannabis retailer was not responsible when an employee failed to check the ID of a customer. This was because the store demonstrated that it had an extensive training program in place. 

While the employee was fired for their oversight, the retailer, Eggs Canna, did not have to face a $7,000 monetary penalty or shut down for seven days.

Related Articles

New cannabis study shows no significant change in rates of use-disorder post-legalization 

May 15, 2023

Calgary police confirm: cannabis store robbed on Boxing Day morning

December 30, 2021

Canada releases What We Heard Report on the Cannabis Act review

October 10, 2023