B.C. ponders pot-seedling sales
B.C. may change its laws to allow licensed cannabis producers to sell seedlings, and other products, directly to consumers, said Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.
Newfoundland and Saskatchewan allow residents to buy cannabis seedlings and Ontario is in the process of creating a distribution system.
Currently, however, only medical cannabis patients in B.C. are the only B.C. residents eligible under federal law to buy seedlings directly, by mail, from licensed producers.
Victoria has prohibited those producers from getting the retail licenses needed to sell directly to the public.
“There is probably no reason why we wouldn’t be able to do that in the future,” Farnworth said.
He said it is “a possibility” that his government will change its Cannabis Distribution Act to allow licensed producers to sell seedlings and plant clippings direct to non-medical consumers.
As part of that change, Farnworth said, the province might also legalize farm-gate sales, which would involve licensed producers selling seedlings along with dried cannabis, oils and other products to the public at a store attached to their production facilities.
This excites executives such as Rubicon Organics Inc. CEO Jesse McConnell, who would like his licensed producers to be able to sell seedlings and other products directly from its 125,000-squarefoot greenhouse in Delta.
The seedlings, however, would be widely available cannabis strains and not proprietary genetic variants.
“Certain genetics would still be pretty closely guarded,” he said. “You spend a lot of time building up genetic profiles, and going through breeding programs and trying to get that strain that is perfect for a certain type of consumer. So I don’t think we’ll see a lot of licensed producers wanting to sell their elite genetics. “
Canopy Growth Corp. already sells products to customers at a Newfoundland production facility.
Farnworth said he foresees legal changes to allow farm-gate sales long before restaurants are allowed to sell cannabis edibles.
Whenever that change comes, it could usher in an era when licensed producers provide tours of their facilities in a way similar to wineries. Visitors could then finish tours by buying T-shirts and cannabis as mementos.
Farnworth would not, however, commit to making the change in the less than two years remaining in his government’s mandate.
As a result, local gardeners who want to grow their own cannabis will be forced to use the more challenging hit-and-miss method of buying and planting cannabis seeds, which takes longer and has a greater chance of failure.
Vancouver cannabis retailer Mike Babins said seed sales have been slow, with about one package of four seeds selling each week after a big spike in sales around the Victoria Day long weekend.
The $60 price tag for one package of cannabis seeds may sound steep — vegetable seeds at nurseries go for a few bucks a pop — but Babins said that each cannabis seed has the potential to yield four ounces of cannabis.
“Regular gardeners are trying seeds as a novelty. It’s helping our sales because when people see how hard it is to grow the stuff, they are a lot more impressed with the quality of our cannabis.”
Babins said that were he able to sell seedlings, he would likely take advance orders and require customers to pick up the plants the day that they are delivered in order to reduce odour and keep the products fresh.
British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch executives have delayed developing a system to distribute seedlings to retail stores. The branch “is not equipped to receive, store or ship clones [or seedlings], as they require significant resources and care to ensure product quality for the end customer,” said spokeswoman Viviana Zanocco in an email. “There would have to be additional distribution channels for these products.”
Newfoundland, however, figured out distribution logistics and sells seedlings online. Saskatchewan contracted private licensed wholesaler Railway Distributing Inc. to distribute seedlings.