Canada to Allow Marijuana Sales at Airports
A spokesperson from the airport in Prince George, British Columbia, announced last week that they consider opening a legal cannabis store on the premises. This is a joint project with Copilot, a company that seeks to make buying weed a standard shopping experience for Canada’s air passengers.
The country already allows traveling with up to 30 grams of weed on domestic flights, and an estimated 1 out of 4 Canadians have already done so. The law prohibits any form of smoking indoors, but adults can legally consume edibles and other non-smokable forms of marijuana at an airport or on a plane.
A Middle-Sized Airport to Test the Business Model
A legal weed store at Prince George Airport (YXS) is thought of as just the first step in a large project to make the substance available to air travelers throughout Canada. Copilot Cannabis has chosen this international transport hub of British Columbia because of its size.
The airport is large enough to service about half a million passengers a year. According to Reed Horton, Copilot’s co-founder, this will provide enough customers to try out different aspects of the business model. The store won’t be lost among many other outlets of a huge shopping mall but won’t be too conspicuous either to offend some of the passengers. After all, cannabis has only been legal in Canada since 2018, and its use still carries a stigma for many people.
Zoning Changes Are Required
Officials from YXS said that legal weed sales on the premises will enhance the services that the airport and its partners provide to their customers. And since the store will be situated outside the security area, it will be available not only to travelers but to locals as well.
According to Copilot’s website, the company is confident that it will have an up-and-running store by the end of summer 2022. However, it has yet to receive a license and a re-zoning decision is still needed so that it’s legal to sell cannabis at the airport.
The city of Prince George has already approved a bylaw to this effect and scheduled a public hearing. If all goes well, the city council will approve the decision and greenlight the project.
