By Charles Lefebvre

Cannabis retailers concerned about supply following additional licence approvals

Jan 28, 2019 | 1:46 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (ALGC) Commission has relaxed its freeze on retail cannabis licences, approving an additional 10 on Friday.

However, local cannabis retailers say they’re concerned the additional approvals will impact their business, saying it will be a challenge to keep stock supplied.

“I think they’re misinformed when they think they have enough stock to supply an additional 10 stores,” said Patrick Wallace, owner of Waldo’s 4/20 Store in Medicine Hat. “We do in two categories; capsules and oils, they definitely have enough stock there to provide for another 10 stores. Providing for enough dried flower or pre-rolls, is another circumstance. They don’t have enough product to go around.”

The commission suspended its retail licence program in November due to issues with providing product.

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Wallace says on top of current product shortages, he says the shortages will increase in April, when the first 25 retail cannabis stores open in Ontario (currently, Ontario residents are only able to order cannabis through an online retailer).

“We were told by all of the suppliers to have a lot of inventory going into April, because when the new stores open up in Ontario, our supply is going to dwindle from 70 per cent of Canadian production to seven per cent of Canadian production,” he said.

Wallace says retaining mid-grade product for his store is week-to-week, however they’re struggling to maintain product with high THC content or CBD oil.

“I’ll only get a couple of hours worth (of product),” he said. “Literally, I’ll get high THC stuff in, anything over 24 per cent, and it’s gone in an hour. I get CBD oil in, it’s gone in an hour. I get CBD capsules in, they’re gone in an hour. If they cannot provide me with more than an hour worth of product, how can they open up 10 more stores?”

Chris Weber, owner of the Green Exchange, has also expressed concern about product supply.

“These last two weeks on our order form that we get every Monday has been even worse yet, more of a shortage,” he said. “I don’t know where they see the shortage has been lifting, because it’s the other way around.”

Chara Goodings, senior communications officers with AGLC, says the freeze was relaxed as they’ve noticed enough of an increase in product in Alberta in the months since they froze licence approvals.

“It’s not enough to open it up fully, but we feel that it’s enough that the existing locations, and the new 10, that there will be enough stock for everyone,” she said. “We have to be really balanced. We don’t want to delay retail licences, but we don’t want to give out too many. The market has to be able to handle it.”

The 10 new licences include four stores in Calgary, along with individual stores in Edmonton, Nisku, Spruce Grove, Grimshaw, Red Deer and Strathmore. Goodings says the licence approvals are based on the order of applications received by the commission

Goodings says the commission is also speaking with additional licensed producers to ensure the supply of cannabis remains at a stable level.

“We had an expression of interest that went out at the end of 2018,” she said. “We had 12 interested licensed producers, so now we are in contact and talking with them to see if they will be able to supply the Alberta market. We’re actively scouring the whole country, looking for more product.”

Currently, AGLC has 15 licensed cannabis producers supplying product, says Goodings.

Alberta has 75 licenced cannabis producers.