Nocapon number of cannabis wholesalers

Market will dictate demand for now

Saskatchewan is letting the market dictate the wholesale cannabis market, but only one company has been granted a permit to operate so far.

“Part of our setup, or our framework, was to allow as many wholesalers into Saskatchewan that can make a business of it, so we allowed the private sector to do what they do best. We’ve also allowed, different from other provinces, retailers to go directly to wholesalers to source their supply,” said Saskatchewan Gaming and Liquor Authority (SLGA) Minister Gene Makowsky on Thursday.

Dawson Mackinnon’s company — Running Leaf — is the only licensed wholesaler with an SLGA permit.

Cannabis retailers are allowed to bring in smaller quantities directly from licensed producers, but it is expected the majority of them will rely on companies such as Running Leaf, in order to ensure their product will arrive on time and at a bulk-buy price.

According to SLGA, there are eight more wholesale cannabis applications in the permitting process, and there will not be a cap on the number of cannabis wholesalers it will allow.

Running Leaf applied to SLGA for a permit one day after applications opened.

It was granted an approval last week to ship and store cannabis product, so it could deliver to Saskatchewan cannabis retailers ahead of the Oct. 17 legalization date.

Mackinnon said roughly 50 per cent of the cannabis retailers in Saskatchewan with the permits to bring in the product are his customers.

“I wouldn’t say that I have part of the market cornered; I would say we have a definite advantage being into the market early,” he said. “It’s going to come down to customer service. A product is a product.”

The entrepreneur said “there is a supply shortage, for sure” of the newly legalized product across the country, adding there are some licensed producers telling him “they’re completely empty.”

That has contributed to varying prices of cannabis across the province and country.

In Saskatchewan, Lush Leaf, located in Esterhazy, priced its pergram cannabis between $10 and $18. Jimmy’s Cannabis Shop, in Martensville, was selling cannabis for $13 per single gram. Eden, located near Pilot Butte in the RM of Edenwold, was selling single-gram quantities for $19. Some provinces had shops selling cannabis at prices ranging from just above $6 per gram to around $12.

Doing a delivery in southeast Saskatchewan on Thursday, Mackinnon says the first few

I wouldn’t saythati have part of the market cornered; I would say we have a definite advantage ...

months of legalization will see “volatile prices” until the market settles in.

“People don’t know what they ’re going to sell right now” he said, adding retailers “have no idea what the market is.”

That means some products — such as pre-rolled joints — are at a premium.

“It’s one of those things you can charge whatever you want for them because nobody else (has them),” he said, noting his company is trying to keep prices fair in order to build long-lasting relationships with retailers.