Number of pot outlets could change: Furey

Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey said the provincial government would consider closing cannabis retail locations if online sales become more popular with consumers.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, a provincial crown corporation, will be responsible for all recreational cannabis sales in the province after the legalization date of Oct. 17. Sales will be through 12 stores — with all except one in existing NSLC buildings — and through an online ordering system. The only location to sell cannabis in the tri-counties is the Yarmouth NSLC.

In an interview last Friday, Furey said the province has no plans to expand beyond those 12 stores at the moment and, depending on sales, may even downsize.

The NSLC is projecting that half of all its cannabis sales will come through online orders — a figure spokeswoman Beverly Ware said was calculated through compiling Statistics Canada data, existing research, and through consulting with other jurisdictions where marijuana is already legal.

“If there’s a higher percentage of people using the online home delivery it could impact the retail storefronts,” Furey said. “The reality is we could see closures (of cannabis sales at some) NSLC stores if the demand is not there for in-store service.”

In fact, Furey said he believes once people get past the novelty of purchasing cannabis in a store, the percentage of online sales could be even higher than 50 per cent.

“You look at rural Nova Scotia, small stores closing because of online retail, you look at grocery stores now providing online grocery service and home delivery, society is changing to that online platform retail experience,” he said.

Furey added that the stigma that still exists surrounding marijuana use could also drive online sales. But with legalization still several months away, Furey said there’s no way to be sure how it will actually play out with consumers.

“Starting Oct. 17, over a 12-month period, there will be significant analysis and monitoring, data collection, on all of these factors, really to justify a business case,” Furey said.

“Forget that it’s cannabis, we need to ask ‘is there a business case to maintain the present model or is there a need to modify that,’ and it could go either way.”

Though some have criticized the small number of stores in the province, suggesting it will allow the black market to continue to flourish, Furey said he believes the government is taking the right approach.

Furey said the province has consulted with U.S. states where marijuana is legal — Washington and Colorado, where officials cautioned about the importance of keeping the system manageable.

“They went too far too fast and their advice to us was don’t do this, you have to have control from the outset, from a public health and safety perspective that makes sense,” he said.

“We don’t want retail shops on every corner because it’s going to drive use. This controlled method that the NSLC is able to provide us is the first step in the legalization of cannabis. We know there are varied models across the country, we have no intentions at this time to go beyond the existing 12 retail stores and the online home delivery model.”

The NSLC has not unveiled its online marijuana sale platform yet, but it has said on its website that the person receiving the delivery will have to provide proof of age and sign for the product. Consumers will also have more selection if they purchase their cannabis online.

Ware said online sales will be handled through a third-party warehouse that will receive, hold and distribute the orders.

She also said the NSLC has contracted a call centre so online customers will have access to assistance with products and orders.