(File Photo/ The Canadian Press)

By Ronald Quaroni

Bud'ding Business

Local cannabis retailers react to one-year anniversary of legalization

Oct 17, 2019 | 12:19 PM

As Canada hits the one-year mark on legal bud, Prince Albert’s store front cannabis retailers reflected on their first year in business.

Prairie Cannabis was the first retailer in the city to open its doors on Dec. 9, 2018.

“It’s been very exciting to be part of the industry as it started from scratch,” Prairie Cannabis Owner, Jim Southam said. “It was a little scary (at the start), wondering where our next purchases were coming from and from which suppliers, but the market is maturing in Saskatchewan. The product is more available and a lot of the stresses; lack of inventory and supply shortages are going away and we’re starting to see pricing come down.”

As of Oct. 17, retailers like Southam will legally be able to sell various cannabis-infused food and drink products. However, there will be a 60-day period where producers will need to notify Health Canada that they intend to sell these products.

Southam hopes the products will be stocked on his shelves as early as mid-December.

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“I’ve said, that probably close to one in three customers that come into my store are asking for edible products or concentrate products. We definitely know there is a demand there,” he explained. “Right now, we’re only carrying a fraction of the products available on the black market. I feel that once we increase the options available to customers in our legal retail stores, that’s going to benefit our businesses and bring people in from the illicit market.”

Canaba Cannabis is the other retailer in the city. Owner and Operator, Shaun Dunphy also noted that they dealt with supply-management issues when they started operations Jan. 18, 2019. He noted that since they’ve opened, business has steadily increased.

“It’s been great, the support from the City of Prince Albert and the surrounding area has been fantastic. It’s getting pretty fun, where we can constantly add new items to the menu and there’s really no supply issues at this time,” Dunphy explained. “Now there’s enough producers and all the growing cycles for the flower has worked itself out.”

Dunphy said his customers have also been asking after the new products, that recently gotten the green light. He feels these new cannabis products will introduce new customers to the market.

“It allows people to get into the cannabis industry without the stereotypical methods of using cannabis, which, there’s still a big following. For a lot of people, I think they want more discreet products. Potentially there is less of a stigma with the new products that are coming out that can be ingested, drunk or vaporized,” Dunphy told paNOW.

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Ron.quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @RonaldQuaroni