The Vancouver Sun reports in its Thursday edition that the B.C. government hopes weak cannabis sales will rebound as the province reaches a "critical mass" of public and private stores in the coming months, says the minister responsible. The Rob Shaw quotes Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth saying that he is not worried that the most recent second-quarter financial update shows cannabis revenue $18-million below the projected $38-million from the provincial share of the federal excise revenue.
"I expect to see a significant increase in revenue," Mr. Farnworth said. "We've sold more cannabis at legal stores in this province in the first week of October than was sold in the entire month of June." Despite Mr. Farnworth's optimism, the province continues to face criticism that its cannabis policies have stifled growth in the industry through a cumbersome security clearance process, waiting times for licences that can stretch as long as a year, high prices compared with the black market, and an aggressive government retail arm that has used the delays to snatch up prime locations for public stores.
"It's phenomenal a province that is known for pot is struggling so badly," said Opposition Liberal critic Peter Milobar.
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