farmgate Cannabis News

BC’s third cannabis farmgate store plans to open in early 2025

Written by David Brown on December 18, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Producers.

BC’s third cannabis farmgate store received provincial approval recently, with plans to welcome customers in the new year.

Weeds International Inc., a micro cultivator in Pitt Meadows, BC, received its producer retail store licence, i.e. cannabis farmgate, from the BC government on Friday, December 13, after a lengthy application approval process.

In addition to their micro cultivation site, Weeds’ owners Don and Devon Briere and Carol Gwilt also operate retail locations in Vancouver and Sechelt. The Weeds brand has been part of BC cannabis culture for more than two decades, with a former chain of retail stores that operated across the province years before legalization.

Weeds’ new farmgate licence is the third such licence issued in the province since it began accepting applications for Producer Retail Stores (PRS) in November 2022. Only three companies have applied for such a licence. The province has also licensed two similar stores, one in Williams Lake and one in Chilliwack, under special arrangements with local First Nations called Section 119 agreements.

The company is now waiting on their final business licence from the city of Pitt Meadows, where they are located.

Gwilt says she and the Brieres were very excited to get the final provincial approval. They are now working on putting the final touches on the store, with the goal of a soft launch in February.

“It’s been a vision for a long time for us,” she tells StratCann. “To be able to grow and sell and share weed with our community is an honour. We love being in Pitt Meadows and we’re happy to have the community come to our farm and experience this with us.”

Don Briere says the Weeds team has several other pieces of the puzzle they hope to bring about later in 2025, including an outdoor consumption space and, more long term, the possibility of a more focussed tourist experience by creating nearby guest houses, where people can visit their farm and buy and sample products over several days.

“It’s been a long time coming; there’s been a lot of slowdown and turns and roadblocks, but we’re here now,” says Briere. We just have to persist and keep on truckin’.”

BC’s first cannabis farmgate location, ShuCanna, located in Salmon Arm, opened in the summer of 2023. The second, the Victoria Cannabis Co (VCC), opened its cannabis farmgate store in October 2024 after a lengthy approval process with the city.

Ontario was the first to launch its farmgate program in 2021, licensing the first two locations on April 20 of that year. As of May 2024, Ontario listed five fully licensed farmgate locations. New Brunswick became the second province to announce a cannabis farmgate program, also in 2021, allowing for “on-site selling of in-house products for local LPs, nurseries, and micros.” The province currently lists seven such locations.

Cannabis farmgate store in Victoria moves one step closer to reality

Written by David Brown on July 19, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Government, Producers, Retail.

A cannabis farmgate store in Victoria has moved one step closer to becoming a reality.

Victoria City Council has voted to support the application from the Victoria Cannabis Company (VCC) cannabis farmgate store at 340 Mary Street, in Victoria West.

In a 7-1 decision, council voted to direct staff to advise the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) of their decision to issue the producer store retail licence (farmgate) to the VCC.

The approval will still be subject to the company’s compliance with the city’s bylaws and permits. The city is requiring the VCC to build a sidewalk adjacent to the facility, which is located near the Galloping Goose Trail, a multi-use trail on a former rail line through the city.

The Victoria Cannabis Company first filed its application for a farmgate store licence in early 2023. The company’s application passed third reading shortly by September 2023, with council sending it back to city staff to address concerns with the location.

BC’s retail cannabis regulations require an approval from local council before considering approval of the application.

In the most recent staff report approved by Council, it was noted that there were no significant concerns about community impact of storefront cannabis retail at the application’s location, that the location would have minimal community impact, and that there were no concerns from police. The report did not have ongoing concerns with odour associated with the store’s adjacent cannabis facilities.

The possible future cannabis farmgate store is located at VCC’s production facility, which is currently home to a nursery, two micro cultivation sites, and a standard processing site.

*Sugar Cane Cannabis’s farmgate store in Williams Lake, BC, which includes an in-store window into their grow room. Image via William’s Lake First Nation.*

The province began accepting applications for producer retail stores (PRS) in November 2022. The program allows micro cultivators, standard cultivators, and nurseries to sell their own products in a retail cannabis store at their own production facilities or sites, as well as an array of products from other producers.

Only one such licence has been approved since then, ShuCanna in Salmon Arm, which was licensed in August 2023. The province has also licensed two similar stores, one in Williams Lake and one in Chilliwack, under special arrangements with local First Nations called Section 119 agreements.

A third farmgate application is also making its way through the municipal process in Pitt Meadows, currently.

More than 100 licensed cannabis facilities could theoretically be eligible to apply for such a farmgate licence. Some BC cannabis growers say the low number of applicants indicates a policy failure, citing concerns with the nearly $10,000 in licensing and application fees and additional costs associated with BC’s retail cannabis regulations.

Kyp Rowe, VP of brand development at VCC, who spoke with StratCann at an earlier date about the application, says their goal is to create a dynamic storefront that can show off not only their own unique cannabis products from cannabis grown on-site, but also other small craft producers in BC. VCC’s location is near the E&N Rail Trail, a popular bike path.

“We are very excited at the opportunity to be among the first potential Production Retail Store locations in British Columbia,” says Rowe. “What sets us apart from other locations is the amount of frontage traffic we have in Vic West. We are not located in an industrial park on the outskirts of town. Our store is just minutes from the sea wall in Lime Bay and has the potential to become a tourist destination.

“Our goal will be to focus on British Columbia producers as well as featuring our own flower grown and packaged on-site. Now, more than ever, small provincial craft producers need an opportunity at the retail level to showcase their products. With all of the pay-to-play for shelf space and the discount retail chains, more and more small producers are getting edged out by large corporations. We want to be able to tell BC’s rich craft cannabis story, and we feel this new farmgate store will give us this opportunity.”

Rowe tells StratCann that he and the VCC team are excited to move forward with the project. They estimate that their sidewalk will be completed in the coming weeks.