With Oct. 17 just days away, cannabis landscape still hazy
TORONTO — Jimmy’s Cannabis will be opening its doors to the public for the first time on Oct. 17 — but it’s still not clear whether there will be any pot products on its shelves.
The Saskatchewan-based chain of recreational pot stores is one of 51 retailers to receive a store permit and is putting the finishing touches on two locations, which feature reclaimed barnwood and custom-made display cases and other details to reflect their provincial roots, said co-owner David Thomas.
While Thomas’ Battleford store has received the provincial green light to stock the products he has ordered, his Martensville location is still awaiting final inspection.
If it doesn’t come through, his backup plan is to open on Oct. 17 as an “educational opportunity” but without pot, he said.
The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority is doing its best given the “compressed timeline,” Thomas said.
“It’s new for everyone, and then we’re trying to do a sixmonths job in two months ... our expectations change hourly.”
Canada is just days away from legalizing cannabis for recreational use.
Products available at the outset include dried flower, pre-rolled joints, oils and cannabis accessories, but edibles won’t be legal until next year.
Still, Oct. 17 will mark the first legal recreational pot sales in what is expected to be a massive market.
The total cannabis market in Canada, including medical, illegal as well as legal recreational products is expected to generate up to $7.17 billion in total sales in 2019, according to a recent Deloitte report.
Of that amount, legal sales are expected to contribute more than half, up to $4.34 billion, in the first year, Deloitte added.
Some retailers like Jimmy’s Cannabis are prepared but waiting for the final go-ahead, while others like The Natural Vibe in Newfoundland have all their paperwork in order to add cannabis to their shelves, but don’t have them in stock quite yet.
“We will have products by Oct. 17, but as time goes on we will have a wider selection,” said Megan Kennedy, owner of the St. John’s-based health food store which is adding marijuana to its existing product catalogue.
Canadians in all provinces and territories will have the option to buy cannabis online — either through government or private retailers — but the opportunity to shop for pot in a brick-andmortar store will not be evenly spread.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, there will be “more than 20” licensed private retailers ready to sell non-medical pot on day one, but the exact number is yet to be determined, said Greg Gill, a spokesperson for the Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation.
In New Brunswick, there will be 20 government-run cannabis retail locations, and in Nova Scotia, cannabis will be sold in 12 government-operated stores alongside alcohol.
Prince Edward Island will have three government-run retail locations as well.
In stark contrast, some of the largest provinces will have few or no brick-and-mortar cannabis stores.
Ontario won’t have any locations on Oct. 17, but the recentlyelected Progressive Conservative government plans to have cannabis in private retail stores by April 1, 2019.
British Columbia will only have one location in Kamloops at the outset.
Quebec is expected to open 12 stores run by the Société québécoise du cannabis while the Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission has issued 17 interim licences to private retailers, but it is unclear how many of those will open their doors on Oct. 17.
In Saskatchewan, 51 retail licences have been issued but it is estimated one-third of these locations may be ready by Oct. 17, according to David Morris, a spokesperson for the SLGA.