Campbell River is the first community on Vancouver Island where residents will be able to purchase weed directly from the province. 

A government-operated B.C. Cannabis Store will open July 31 at the Discovery Harbour Shopping Centre, located in the 1400 block of the Island Highway.

A government store will also open in Cranbrook on the same day.

They'll be the third and fourth provincially run stores to open in B.C. since the federal government legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018.

Kate Bilney, spokesperson for the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch, told On The Island host Gregor Craigie that the stores are designed to be 'very very welcoming," and she hopes people will come down and chat with staff about what cannabis products will suit their needs.

Joints and jobs

Bilney said the Campbell River store created 16 jobs with government benefit packages. The province plans to open stores in the Island communities of Port Alberni, Courtenay and Parksville next.

There are currently two B.C. Cannabis Stores operating in Kamloops.

Customers have referred to the provincial pot shops as "the Apple stores of cannabis" because of their bright, minimalist esthetic and the knowledge employees have about the products in store, Bilney said.