Across the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, liquor stores are clearing shelf space for a new set of products. Meanwhile, the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation’s website is gearing up to take orders on more than 400 new items. And that’s because coming soon, cannabis will be part of the shopping experience for NSLC customers. As soon as cultivators can get approval to supply the province’s liquor agency, that is.
Shop For Booze While Choosing From From Hundreds of Weed Products
Canada recently became the second country in the world to legalize cannabis. But each province can still set its own rules and regulations for the legal industry.
Approaches share a lot in common, but they also vary considerably in some aspects. How provinces handle the cultivation and sale of cannabis is a perfect example.
In some provinces, state-run liquor control boards control the whole retail end of the cannabis industry. In others, private retail companies can set up shop alongside state-owned liquor agencies.
But government control doesn’t mean a lack of choice. In fact, Nova Scotia demonstrates the contrary. Cannabis will be available at NSLC locations and online. But NSLC CEO Bret Mitchell says hundreds of products will be available in-store.
The NSLC will operate standalone cannabis retail shops and combined liquor and weed stores. At the dedicated shops, Mitchell says customers can expect more than 300 products.
The world’s first combined liquor and weed stores, however, will carry about half as many items.
The product diversity will largely come down to strain varieties and their different amounts. The NSLC figures shops will carry anywhere between 40 and 70 different strains of cannabis.
Most Local Suppliers Won’t Be Ready When Sales Go Online
Legal weed sales can officially begin on October 17 across Canada. But that doesn’t mean producers will necessarily be ready to sell to retailers by then.
There are a dozen growers vying for licenses to supply the NSLC with its cannabis products. And none of them have so far received approval from the federal government in Ottawa.
Without a cultivation license, businesses literally can’t grow. And without a sell license, they can’t offer to sell to the NSLC.
And so far, only two of the twelve companies have received a cultivation license. Both are still waiting on their sell license.
Which means that local supply of cannabis could be very limited when sales come online in October. For now, Nova Scotia isn’t permitting any cannabis from outside the province to supply NSLC stores.
Once all 12 Nova Scotia cultivators start production, however, their output will exceed the 15,000 kg/year the NSLC expects it will need to meet demand.
In the meantime, the NSLC is creating 80 new budtender jobs and offering specialized training in marijuana retail.
Mitchell says the NSLC is weighing whether to accept applications from job-hunters with prior marijuana possession convictions.
