The lawyer for 2 marijuana stores in West Kelowna says council has denied the appeal for both Black Crow Herbal Solutions and Okanagan Cannabis Solutions. Both are seeking 2018 business licenses. The shops are both running but their renewals were denied.
Stan Tessmer says he appealed to council, on behalf of his clients, on Tuesday, January 23rd and "They were very very concerned that there be a regime in place that provides testing of cannabis products...some kind of regulatory process in place before they license."
Tessmer points to other municipalities that have issued licenses in advance of the national legislation coming to Canada in July. Vancouver, Victoria, Squamish, Port Alberni, Nelson.
The City of West Kelowna has requested a court challenge to close down the 2 pot operations, while Tessmer says his clients are counter-suing. "We're going to apply for a temporary use permit, first of all, through the Central Okanagan Regional District and if we can get temporary use until July we can save the tax payers of West Kelowna and my clients a lot of money in a big court battle."