U.S. experts raise concerns about Alberta’s situation

Alberta’s decision to halt new cannabis store openings was an overreaction that will only help the black market, said pot industry experts from two U.S. states where the drug was legalized in 2014.

Last Nov. 21, provincial regulator Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) slapped an indefinite moratorium on new pot shops, citing product supply shortages.

Though there were some supply gaps in Colorado when the state legalized recreational use of cannabis, “we never backed off the licensing of stores,” said Dan Rowland, who has advised Denver officials and Canadian industry retailers.

After being invited to enter the business and meeting government criteria, it should be up to retailers to decide if they’ll close due to sourcing challenges, said Rowland.

After a year of legalization, Colorado, with a population of 5.7 million people, counted 322 stores and now has about 550.

Alberta, with 4.3 million resi- dents, has 65 stores for now, though it hoped to have 250 by this fall.

Governments, said Rowland, always underestimate the demand for cannabis because prohibition obscured its realities.

The Alberta moratorium is a gift to the black market, a sector legalization is supposed to destroy, said a flabbergasted Dr. Jim MacRae, a cannabis industry analyst in Seattle, Wash. “It is absolutely idiotic — they’re artificially inflating the price and reinforcing the black market,” said MacRae.

Alberta is the only province in the country to freeze the number of cannabis stores but that’s because it has by far the most of them, which puts a bigger strain on supply, said AGLC spokeswoman Chara Goodings. The move was done for the good of a fledgling industry, she said.

AGLC officials have said the worst-case supply scenario could see the licence freeze last for up to 18 months.