The Vancouver Sun reports in its Wednesday edition that British Columbia's early sales of legal cannabis have lagged neighbouring Alberta due to a slow rollout of legitimate retail and the inability to curb the illicit market in the province. The Sun's Derrick Penner writes that B.C. rang up $19.1-million in legal cannabis sales in 2018, just 7 per cent of Canada's overall marijuana revenue, even though the province makes up nearly 14 per cent of the national population, according to an analysis by Arcview Market Research. In Alberta, however, legal sales -- both recreational and medical -- added up to $216.5-million, a surprising 28 per cent of the nation's overall legal revenue. B.C.'s robust illicit market, especially "grey-market" dispensaries, and a strong homegrown culture helps explain why B.C. is out of line with its provincial neighbour. As of April 8, just four of 17 private licensed cannabis stores across the province were open in Metro Vancouver, all in the city itself, according to the B.C. Liquor and Cannabis Licensing Branch. Two more have had applications approved, but licences have not been finalized. Twenty cannabis dispensaries are still operating without provincial licences in Vancouver.