The AGLC still isn’t issuing new retail licences for pot stores, but local retailers say the provincial cannabis shortage that led to that decision is starting to get better.
It has been nearly six months since cannabis was legalized across Canada. Today, St. Albert has three locations open where residents can buy the product, and several others are under construction. The Gazette caught up with store owners in advance of the six-month mark to find out how business has been budding.
Fire and Flower Co. was the first cannabis retailer to open in St. Albert. The store was among only a handful of shops across Alberta that opened on Oct. 17 – the day cannabis was legalized.“St. Albert has been a great market and a great store for us,” said Nathan Mison, vice-president of government and stakeholder relations with the company.
Since opening the store, Fire and Flower Co. has had a consistent flow of people streaming through the doors. Because competition is rampant among retailers, Mison wasn’t able to say how many sales the store made in its first week of opening.
But so far for Mison, opening in St. Albert has been a great experience.
“We've been able to have St. Albert be one of our shining stars that has really distinguished itself (from) the stores that we have,” he said.
On Oct. 17, the Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) only permitted around 19 stores to open across the province. Other locations – like St. Albert’s SpiritLeaf – were ready to start but had to wait.
It was another month after legalization before Jason Kent and wife Jayne Kent were finally able to turn the key and let people in.
Since then, the store has built a strong base of regular shoppers.
“We ... are willing to sit down and chat with our (customers). We have mature staff that are good, knowledgeable,” said Kent, adding he’s on a first-name basis with many of his customers.
When cannabis was first legalized, the AGLC created a system for retailers to order their product online. With that system, owners like Jason and Jayne had to stay up past 3 a.m. just to beat other locations in placing orders.
In November, the AGLC said it had only received around 20 per cent of the product it ordered from Alberta’s list of approved licensed producers, so it suspended issuing any more retail licences until its pot inventory could balance out.
The AGLC said in an email the suspension is still in place, which means pending stores in St. Albert – like The Wanted Leaf downtown – are left to play the waiting game.
The AGLC now has 23 licensed producers, which Mison said has helped the supply problem.
“We have seen an uptake in the ability to order new products. We hope that continues to happen,” he said.
The AGLC has also changed the way retailers get product from its online store. Now, each Monday the retailers are entered into a pool that randomly selects how much of their cannabis orders will be filled.
That means some retailers will get more product, while others will get less.
Jason said parts of the process have still been frustrating, particularly when it comes to potency.
Many shoppers prefer high THC and high CBD products, but Jason said it’s impossible to tell beforehand how much THC or CBD will be in the product. That means when he places an order for a certain type of cannabis, he's given a range of potency.
“I don't want to buy a whole bunch, because what if it's only 11 per cent? You know what I mean? Like, if it was 19 per cent, I could sell the (crap) out of it,” he said. “If I got the 11 per cent, it’d probably sit on the shelf for three or four or five, six times as long.”
NewLeaf Cannabis also opened in St. Albert earlier this year. The retailer was not available for an interview by press time.
