Leighton Smith is worried.

It might seem like a strange feeling for the operator of a pot shop to have with the clock ticking down to cannabis legalization in Canada, but the operator of Phyven Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary said he fears the City of Kamloops is setting local marijuana stores up for failure — potentially paving the way for larger out-of-town chain retailers to move into the market.

“It’s a guessing game,” Smith told KTW.

“The kind of money that it could take to participate in the market in Kamloops, at that point, it could be companies from Vancouver or Alberta. Then all you’re left with here is people in Kamloops with $15-an-hour jobs. When you’re dealing with things like this that affect the moral fabric of a community, I think you’re better off dealing with people who live here and pay their mortgage here and buy their groceries here.”

Smith is not alone. KTW spoke with owners or managers at six of the eight retail cannabis storefronts in the Tournament Capital, and all but one of them expressed a similar concern.

Chuck McCarthy, who owns Weeds on 12th Street in North Kamloops, said out-of-town retailers are bad for business and, ultimately, bad for consumers.

“I’ve been dead against anybody from out of town opening up shops in Kamloops,” he said.

“Some of our shops are owned by people from out of town and they don’t give a shit about Kamloops. They’re using our young people and taking our money. I don’t believe in that.”

The Canna Clinic storefront in Dufferin, which was raided by police and shuttered on May 7, is a retail chain based in the Lower Mainland. Prior to the raid, the location was the subject of dozens of complaints from area residents.

Earlier this month, Kamloops council approved zoning that established where pot stores will be allowed to set up shop once weed is legalized — essentially a strip each in the downtown core and the Tranquille business area, plus a handful of smaller pockets in different areas of the city.

That leaves the operators of current cannabis stores — all but two of which are located outside the designated zoning — with a dilemma: Move to a location in the proper zoning (which are expensive, retailers say, and hard to find), wait for legalization and apply for site-specific zoning or carry the lease on a vacant storefront until legalization has taken place.

Leaving aside the overarching uncertainty surrounding provincial retail licensing, the issues remain: Most local shops can’t afford to carry a lease on an empty storefront in a properly zoned location, nor can they manage to carry their current lease without operating while waiting for the results of a site-specific zoning application with city hall — a process that takes an estimated three months.

“Best-case scenario, which is still pretty bad, is you’re holding a lease and just hoping you get through,” Smith said.

“What they’re basically asking us to do is to go out blindfolded and find yourself a spot and hope, financially, you don’t take a hit.”

Christine King, one of the partners behind the Sacred Leaf dispensary in Aberdeen, said pot retailers knew the risk going in, but argued that should not preclude them from a fair shot at success post-legalization.

“Council and staff would say, ‘You took the chance, you’re in an illegal business,’” she said. “Yes, we did. But we did it with the conviction that it was going to be legal and we were going to be part of it.”

Marvin Kwiatkowski, the City of Kamloops’ development and engineering services director, said the market will dictate which shops flourish once legalization arrives.

“It isn’t really up to us. That gets into the business case and the economics,” he said.

“But we’ve heard this over the years a lot, when the Walmarts were coming to town or all of the big chains. We don’t have a policy on that. It’s free enterprise. It’s an interesting question, but I think we’ve moved beyond that now. You’ve got to adapt.”

Local realtor Mona Murray, who specializes in commercial and retail leasing, said Kamloops landlords are being wary when it comes to pot shops, especially with so many unanswered questions lingering about B.C.’s retail regulations.

“Not many landlords are open to that business, mostly because landlords are uncertain with the legislation and how it’s going to roll out,” she said, noting she gets one to two calls a week from potential tenants looking to open weed storefronts.

“There is enough uncertainty and enough concerns raised that we have very few landlords who will even talk to us about having a dispensary in their building. There are so many questions and that’s why the landlords are backing away from it.”

Murray said she knows of at least one cannabis retailer sitting on an empty storefront in the downtown zoning area, and another is rumoured to be doing the same thing in a vacant space near Northhills Centre. The downtown location is believed to be leased to a Vancouver-based cannabis retail chain with locations in Ontario and B.C.

Multiple marijuana retailers told KTW landlords in the designated zoning areas were trying to charge as much as double rent for dispensaries — a move Murray said she would be surprised to see among her clients.

But, she added, the decision on leasing ultimately rests with the owner, not the retailer.

“There is vacancy,” she said. “But it’s up to the landlords to decide who they want in their building.”

Kwiatkowski said he thinks the Kamloops cannabis market will be bigger post-legalization than it is now — eight shops spread out across the city.

“The number of stores, we’re probably going to have that number if not more, maybe 12 or 15,” he said.

“But how will it all shake out? It’s evolving. We don’t know the full look of the provincial regulations. I think they’re going to run it fairly tight, but it’s a whole new landscape. It’s probably going to be a thriving business and it’s probably going to be fairly profitable.”

McCarthy said he is hopeful his store will still be in operation post-legalization, but said it’s far too early to know for sure.

“Nobody knows. Nobody has a clue. Anyone who says they’re going to make it is full of shit,” McCarthy said.

“Everything is a shot in the dark. Everything is up in the air. We’ve got to play it piece by piece.”

Smith said his concern is tempered by cautious long-term optimism. He is hoping Phyven is successful in its eventual application to the B.C. government, whenever Victoria decides to open that process to potential private retailers.

“This is the first time in our lifetime that a market like this has been created out of thin air,” he said.

“So it’s hard to say. We’re optimistic, but there are so many moving variables in it. It’s hard to predict. But I am hopeful for us. It’s been a trade in B.C. forever. B.C. is a very mature cannabis culture. You just don’t see the problems cropping up until it happens.”