Big changes are in store for the Canadian marijuana industry following the passage of the Cannabis Act. With legalization comes regulation, and cannabis enthusiasts may be surprised at how little will actually be available on the morning of Oct. 17.
Edible products, for instance, remain in limbo while regulations are worked out, and legalization is expected to bring headaches to existing dispensaries that have been operating under the radar.
Licensing issues haven’t been fully worked out yet for most retailers, which means newly arriving legal dispensaries often can’t reveal their locations even though they’re less than a month from opening.
That is currently the case in Manitoba, where three companies made successful proposals to the province for opening marijuana stores. Only two of those organizations are currently slated to be ready for customers in mid-October.
CEO Mark Goliger of National Access Cannabis issued this statement about plans for three stores to open in Manitoba next month:
According to a report from CBC News, Delta 9 Cannabis will likely only have one store ready for business on legalization day. According to the report, Delta 9 spokesperson Gary Simmons stated:
“I can’t be 100 percent certain, but on our timeline we are geared up to have retail stores, or at least one store, open on Oct. 17 and our online will be up and running as well.”
Simmons went on to add, “I think you are going to see a number of stores open in Manitoba on Day 1 and I think those stores are going to be unbelievably busy as curiosity and pent-up demand is going to drive a lot of people to those stores. I think it’s going to be quite the scene.”
The Garden Variety consortium meanwhile is gearing up to open two stores in Winnipeg by early 2019.
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