The City of Grande Prairie is set to get a little greener this summer. Two more cannabis licences have been handed out to brick and mortar stores in the Swan City.
PeaceLeaf and Canna Cabana will join Lucky Leaf as storefront operations, six months after the latter officially opened its doors.
Vice-President of PeaceLeaf Roberto Lopez says it’s liberating to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“It’s been frustrating, to say the least over the last year…but now that we are up and running we are pretty motivated to get things done and open.”
Lopez says some frustration remains with Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis and how they have placed restrictions on a very lucrative aspect of cannabis sales.
“They’re the only entity that is allowed an online presence, and I understand there are small towns with no access to cannabis that need to be serviced, but I think the AGLC should have taken care of the retailers first, which invested large sums of money.”
PeaceLeaf President Lucas Hinks says with the licence firmly now in place, the rush to get the operation up and running full tilt has begun as they hope to have their doors open by the end of the month.
“We can’t place an order until June 17th, so if the product takes 11 days to arrive, we would be receiving the product right before Canada Day Weekend. If we can be open to the public by then, I would be very happy.”
A forecast released in April estimates Albertans will spend just shy of $1 billion on recreational cannabis by the year 2024.