Pot shops will only be allowed to sell cannabis, related items
Private retailers who want to sell legal marijuana in Alberta next July 1 won’t be able to do so alongside alcohol, or even a bag of chips.
Under proposed rules introduced by the province Thursday, retailers will be restricted to sales of cannabis and cannabis-related goods such as lighters and rolling papers. There’s no word on how much legal marijuana will cost, but 420 Clinic founder Jeff Mooij says
that won’t matter to consumers.
As a medical marijuana clinic owner and cannabis user, Mooij said Thursday there is an appetite for clean, safe, regulated weed in Alberta — it’s not about paying less than black market drugs, but knowing where the product is coming from.
“Demand will be huge,” he said. Mooij intends to apply for a retail licence and envisages long lines and shelves emptying at lightning speed on July 1, as has been the experience in the U.S.
“What we need to worry about is that we have enough product in this province to facilitate (legalization),” he said, calling on the federal government to increase production licences.
“If we want to go against the black market, then we need a robust market.”
If the legislation is passed, retail stores will operate under a specific cannabis business licence. That means liquor stores won’t be able to set up a wall and a separate storefront with booze on one side and bud on the other — they need to be an entirely different business entity.
In a statement, Alberta Liquor Store Association president Ivonne Martinez said private liquor retailers are best suited to safely and responsibly sell legalized cannabis.
If government wants a specific distance between alcohol and cannabis, she said, ALSA members should still be able to open up offsite weed stores.
Along with booze, selling tobacco or pharmaceuticals alongside weed also will be strictly prohibited.
Online sales will be controlled and run by the province, although the details of how that will work are yet to be hashed out.
The government is still working on which department or organization will execute sales, what technology will be used to check buyers’ age and identity online (and at delivery) and how the product will even get to remote communities.
With municipalities and the federal government still setting up their own laws, Alberta officials see July 1 as the starting point, not the finishing line.
Officials say many of the intricacies will be managed through regulations coming in February or March.
Those rules will govern where a store can be located, how much distance must exist between cannabis shops, schools and liquor stores, and how licensing through the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission will work. There’s no set limit on the number of stores allowed in the province, but the gaming and liquor commission will manage the pace of licensing to avoid a clamouring rush for stores.