It may be even longer than expected before people can legally buy weed in Grande Prairie. The province says no more retail licences will be issued, due to a shortage of product.
“AGLC ordered enough product to support up to 250 retail stores in the first six months of legalization,” explains Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis President & CEO Alain Maisonneuve, “however, as of November 17 we have only received approximately 20 per cent of what we had ordered. While some licensed producers have fulfilled their commitments, not all have.”
Maisonneuve says the government has tried to buy more from other producers with federal licences but hasn’t been able to due to the nation-wide shortage. In the meantime, what’s left will be shared among private retailers, while some will be kept online for people living where there aren’t any stores yet.
“Our priority is to ensure private Alberta retailers are supported,” says Maisonneuve.
That’s currently the case for Grande Prairie. One licence has been issued for a shop in the city, but an opening date has not yet been set. The only store open in northern Alberta is Bud Runners Cannabis in Peace River, which is opening a second location in Grimshaw this Saturday.
As of last week, there were 17 applications in the works for retail shops in Grande Prairie. AGLC says anyone wanting to pull out of the process can get a full refund. It also won’t be accepting any new applications for the time being.