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.

Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said he’s 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,” 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.”

Something good is cooking in B.C. and the rest of the world wants a look at the menu.

Vancouver has quietly transformed itself into a hotbed of cannabis culinary delights since Canada legalized the drug over a year ago. The second wave of legalization, which will soon bring extracts and edibles to store shelves, will only expand the offerings of local chefs, such as marijuana maestro Travis Peterson.

“I see, two years from now, other countries will start to follow Canada’s lead,” Peterson told CBC. “They’ll look at Canadians as the experts in this.”

But some black-market retailers are not intimidated by the government’s aggressive actions.

Marijuana may be legal across Canada now, but B.C.’s newly formed pot police are still busy raiding illegal cannabis stores.

Officially known as the Community Safety Unit, the provincial pot squad is responsible for shutting down unlicensed marijuana merchants.

The year-old special police force is now ramping up its enforcement activities, swooping down on unlicensed cannabis stores and seizing pot, cash, computer records and even weapons.

“The goal is to shut down illegal stores,” said Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth, who revealed the unit has already staged 21 raids of unlicensed retailers.

Jeff Weaver has been jumping through the legal hoops required to set up Jimmy's Cannabis shop in Cranbrook, B.C., but now an image of a famous Mountie Weaver used to cover one of the shop's windows has caught the attention of law enforcement.

Cannabis stores in B.C. are required to cover their windows so the interior can't be seen from the street.

Many shops use plain, frosted white coverings, but Weaver opted for a collection of black and white historical images representative of the Cranbrook area.

One of the windows depicts Sam Steele, known as the man who helped bring law and order to the west in the late 19th century.

The province is suing to have a $1.83-million Langley property forfeited, alleging it has been used to produce drugs and launder money.

In a B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office suit filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Oct. 29, named are a numbered company that owns the property, 0671262 B.C. Ltd., and Milan Pocuca, the company’s sole director and “controlling mind.”

Also named are A.D. Logging Ltd., Donna Lynn Ayres and Greyfriars Mortgage (2012) Ltd., all of whom hold mortgages on the property.

The defendants are also accused of possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking and failure to declare taxable income.

The allegations have not been proven in court and no response has been filed by 0671262 B.C. Ltd., Pocuca or Greyfriars.

B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth and Finance Minister Carole James were the NDP’s point persons on pot a year before they formed a minority government with the B.C. Greens.

In 2016, Farnworth and James toured legal marijuana operations in Oregon and neighbouring Washington, where recreational cannabis has been legal since 2012. As they prepared the NDP’s election platform on how to handle legalization, Farnworth remembers visiting an Oregon store that offered cannabis-infused ice cream.

“I asked, what’s the dosage like?” Farnworth said in an interview. “They said oh, a tablespoon. And I remember thinking, who eats a tablespoon of ice cream?”

British Columbia premier John Horgan is turning the blame outwards for the province’s dismal cannabis sales and low profits.

The province has had a tough time in the legal cannabis game since cannabis was federally legalized in 2018 — selling less licensed product than any province other than Prince Edward Island.

The District of Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island denied three cannabis store applications at a council meeting last week.

Mayor Mayco Noel said even though cannabis has been legal for a year, he didn't think the stores would be a good fit for the community.

The decision has been somewhat controversial among residents — especially since neighbouring Tofino approved two stores this summer. 

Marilyn McEwen, a councillor with the district of Ucluelet, voted in favour of two of the cannabis stores. 

"I liked the locations ... and I liked both of the applicants," she said on CBC's All Points West. 

McEwen was the only councillor to vote in favour of any of the applications. 

A new study suggests cannabis could be a safer and more effective substitute for opioids in the treatment of chronic pain, but can it help fight the opioid crisis?

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the B.C. Centre on Substance Use conducted over 5,000 interviews with 1,152 people who used heroin and other drugs and reported chronic pain at some point from June 2014 to June 2017. 

The participants were largely from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and lead author M-J Milloy said the study aimed to discover "new interventions" that might "lower or address the risk of overdose" in heavy opioid users.