The City of Penticton is to immediately extend retail hours for cannabis shops to 11pm.
This comes after Penticton City Council endorsed a recommendation from staff to proceed with a two year review of the Cannabis Retail Sales Policy.
In 2019 the policy laid out the process by which cannabis retailers can obtain local government support for their provincial licensing application. Nine businesses including the Provinces BC Cannabis store have worked throughout this process.
“All things considered, Penticton’s experience with cannabis stores, the process by which they’ve been approved and the public’s feedback concerning their operation once open, has been mostly issue free,” said the City’s Director of Development Services, Blake Laven.
“A good portion of this success can be attributed to the City’s comprehensive community engagement process that heard from a wide range of public and business perspectives prior to the Cannabis Retail Sales Policy going into effect in 2019.”
The city will be gathering feedback from properties neighbouring pot shops, cannabis retailers and business stakeholders in the Downtown Penticton Association.
They’re interested to see how businesses in close proximity are dealing with the extended hours of operation, and to gain insight from the public on the 14 store cap that's currently in place.
Penticton Mayor, John Vassilaki encourages all neighbourhood businesses, retailers, and stakeholders to follow up on the city's call for feedback.
