Nova Scotia puts cannabis, booze under same roof
HALIFAX The Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. offered a glimpse inside one of its coming cannabis stores Wednesday, showcasing a unique retail hybrid not likely found anywhere else in the world.
NSLC president and CEO Bret Mitchell took media on a tour of the cannabis store inside the NSLC on Joseph Howe Drive in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia is the only jurisdiction that brings cannabis and alcohol sales under one roof.
“We have a very unique situation here in Nova Scotia and one that’s definitely going to be setting the stage for the world,” said Mitchell inside the new cannabis store, in a renovated section of the liquor store.
“It hasn’t been done to my knowledge anywhere else in the world, and so it’s going to make it a very different retail environment than you’ll experience in any other jurisdiction.”
The entrance to the 130 squaremetre rectangular-shaped store — one of the largest in the province — is in the back left corner of the liquor store beneath large letters that read “cannabis.”
Behind the counter and spanning an entire wall are dozens of white boxes that will eventually contain types of cannabis. The available products will be displayed on TV screens and are divided into four distinct categories: relax, unwind, centre and enhanced.
Mitchell calls this a “discovery guide approach.”
“The four categories are how we will be grouping our assortments to hopefully help those who are new to the category have an ability to choose what they’re looking for when they buy cannabis,” said Mitchell.
For example, a sign on the wall explains that, “relax” products offer “relaxing and calming experiences that are generally more focused in the body than the mind.”
Products and accessories will be displayed in cabinets on the walls. Customers will not be able to smell the product, except for at its Clyde Street store in downtown Halifax. NSLC says the products will have descriptions regarding their “nose.”
Mitchell conceded that the store’s opening would not come without growing pains.
“This is a new experience for us and it’s going to take time to figure out,” he said.
He said in order to have a cannabis store within the liquor store, they must abide by a number of federal regulations, including that it be totally separate from the liquor store. No one under the age of 19 is allowed in the cannabis section.
“There’s going to be some learning. Do people shop the same way? Do they come at the same time of day? How do they interact with staff ? It’s going to be a very different experience,” he said, adding the average alcohol transaction is three minutes, whereas cannabis transactions will take up to 20 minutes.