The province of Alberta wants to exit the online cannabis-selling game and allow private retailers to take over the e-commerce side of the business, reports Global News.
The proposal
Alberta Gaming and Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) currently controls all online sales in the province through Albertacannabis.org, which only amounts to about $200,000 in sales annually. The United Conservative Party proposed the change in Bill 80, the Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act.
Stronger illicit market competition
Omar Khan, the senior VP of corporate and public affairs with High Tide, told CBC that allowing private retailers to sell online will eat into the illicit market.
“That will help us also further compete with the illicit market, which is still resilient,” Khan said in an interview Thursday. “The more we can do to build up and support this legal sector, the better it will be for everybody.”
The wholesale question
In a news release, High Tide president and CEO Raj Grover said it’s a particularly good move because the AGLC is the wholesaler for all retailers in the province.
“Alberta has once again shown that it is a province that believes in the free market,” he said in a statement. “Today’s proposed legislation will, if passed, provide a shot in the arm to private sector cannabis retailers who, for too long, have had to compete with a government owned entity in the e-commerce space that also serves as their sole wholesale supplier.”
