Meantime, private-retail hopefuls are desperate for the latest details about policy and regulation, which have been slow to come.

The federal Cannabis Act was passed last November and B.C. introduced corresponding legislation in April 2018. The province only began accepting applications to operate a marijuana dispensary in the first half of August.

Asked this week whether any applications had been sent to local governments for review, Ministry of Attorney General spokesman Liam Butler said in an emailed reply that the government was unable to comment on applications in process.

Butler said the review process involves rigorous security screening and robust licensing requirements and said the province can’t estimate how long local government or Indigenous government review and recommendation processes would take.

A survey of eight local governments, representing roughly half B.C.’s population, confirmed that none know whether they will have any stores ready to open locally on Oct. 17, and most were highly doubtful.

Terry Waterhouse, general manager of public safety for Surrey, said local governments won’t receive provincial applications for review until they have their own retail framework sorted out. He said Surrey city staff are still working with council and the province to determine how many stores to open, but said it’s unclear whether any will be ready to open before 2019.

“Like many jurisdictions, I think the first wave of availability for B.C. residents is going to be via online sales,” Waterhouse said.

Vancouver doesn’t know whether any stores will be open on Oct. 17.

“As the city has not yet received any applications for approval from the province, we are unable to confirm the number of cannabis retail stores that will be legally operating in Vancouver on October 17,” Kathryn Holm, the city’s chief licence inspector, stated.

Holm said the city has issued development permits to 52 private stores in the city, and business licences to 19 of them, but said they’ll still need to get provincial retail licences before they can operate. Dispensaries operating with a lapsing marijuana-related retail use or compassion club licence from the city will need to get a new city business licence for cannabis retail as well as a provincial licence, she said.

Burnaby city council will look at approving government stores before allowing any private stores, which could be integrated based on how the government stores serve the community, said Edward Kozak, deputy director of planning and building.

But first, a zoning-bylaw amendment to allow government pot stores in the city has to get further readings by council, and then each store must submit a separate rezoning application before facing a public hearing and a decision by council based on staff input.

Rezoning applications generally take six to 18 months to process, depending on their complexity, Kozak said.

“Burnaby residents are either going to have to go to a neighbouring municipality that has it established … or rely on online sales,” Kozak said. “I think October 17, although it may be legal, it may be hard to get.”

Ryan Smith, community planning manager for Kelowna, said next week council will either review, approve or send back for changes its cannabis retail strategy, and could adopt the strategy in time for legalization. But then potential retailers will have to submit rezoning applications for review.

Smith said the municipal election has delayed the whole process and the city doesn’t expect to review rezoning applications until next spring.

“I would imagine that by June, July or August, we’ll have our first stores open,” he said.

Coquitlam is taking a “wait and see” approach and wants to see full details from the province and extensive public consultation before making any decisions about what to open and where, said senior planner Chris McBeath.

Stores will remain prohibited in Abbotsford after legalization while its framework is determined.

“If council votes to make changes that would permit retail operations to exist in Abbotsford, the timeline will be dependent on the method that is chosen,” spokeswoman Alex Mitchell said.

The District of Saanich council has asked its planning staff for a report on cannabis retail options, which it expects to review in early 2019, said spokeswoman Megan Catalano.

Richmond counts itself among the municipalities where residents will have to seek cannabis elsewhere, as staff and council currently have no plans to allow stores in the city, spokesman Ted Townsend said.

Grey-market dispensaries seek clarity

With only one legal store set to open Oct. 17, the grey-market dispensaries currently selling cannabis in some cities are wondering what role they will play in post-legalization B.C.

The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General says those dispensaries are allowed to apply for a provincial licence, but a big question among the dispensaries remains what will happen to them as they wait for approval.

Don Briere, owner of Weeds Glass and Gifts, said he is applying for licences for dispensaries he currently runs in multiple provinces.