Cannabis in Kelowna
Kelowna has some of the widest store spacing rules in B.C.: cannabis shops must be 500 metres apart and 500 metres from public middle and secondary schools, and each one needs a rezoning approved by council. Smoking, vaping and cannabis use are banned in all Kelowna parks, beaches included, even the waterfront parks where the city now allows alcohol.
Where can you smoke cannabis in Kelowna?
B.C. already bans cannabis smoking and vaping in municipal parks except designated areas (see the B.C. rules). Kelowna's Parks and Public Spaces Bylaw makes it explicit: smoking is prohibited in every city park, including beaches, trails, playgrounds, sports fields and stadiums, and so is using e-cigarettes or cannabis. The ban covers everything inside park boundaries, parking lots and access roads included.
This matters in summer, because Kelowna lets people drink alcohol in eight parks, including Waterfront Park, Boyce-Gyro, Kinsmen and Rotary beaches. Cannabis isn't part of that program: even where a drink is allowed, smoking or vaping anything is not. Note that West Kelowna, across the bridge, is a separate city with its own bylaw and a $500 fine for public cannabis smoking.
| Place | Alcohol | Cannabis |
|---|---|---|
| Eight designated parks (e.g. Waterfront, Boyce-Gyro, Rotary Beach) | Allowed in set areas | Not allowed |
| All other city parks and beaches | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Your own home or private property | Allowed | Allowed |
How does Kelowna regulate cannabis stores?
Kelowna modelled its rules on how it handles private liquor stores. A shop needs a rezoning to a retail cannabis sales subzone, which council can approve or refuse after a public hearing, then a city business licence and a provincial licence. Stores are limited to commercial and urban centre zones, or industrial zones as a secondary use capped at 250 square metres.
The distance rules are what shape the map. Stores must keep 500 metres from each other and from public middle and secondary schools, and 150 metres from public elementary schools and select parks. The buffers count only public schools, a gap raised when council approved a store near a private school.
| From | Minimum distance |
|---|---|
| Another cannabis store | 500 m |
| Public middle or secondary school | 500 m |
| Public elementary school | 150 m |
| Select city parks | 150 m |
How has cannabis in Kelowna changed since 2018?
Legal stores took a while to arrive. Kelowna's first one opened in July 2019, nine months after legalization, on Springfield Road. The Okanagan's first licensed store had opened in Vernon a few weeks earlier, on Canada Day. Because every new store goes through a public hearing, openings since then have been one rezoning at a time.
What should visitors to Kelowna know?
You must be 19 to buy or use cannabis in B.C. Lake beaches are a no-smoking zone, so plan to use cannabis on private property, such as a rental where the owner allows it. Flying out of Kelowna within Canada with cannabis under the legal limit is allowed; carrying it across any international border is not. To check a product's contents, see how to read a cannabis label.
