Staff training standards differ across Canada for legal cannabis retailers

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Depending on where it’s being sold, the workers serving up Canadians their legal cannabis could have taken an official training course that lasts more than 20 hours – or none at all.

Across the country, a patchwork of certification programs exists to ensure that retail staff in each province are selling cannabis responsibly and have enough product knowledge to inform customers – a component experts say is key to competing with Canada’s sizable market of illicit dispensaries and online retailers.

In British Columbia, “budtenders” at the one government outlet took an ad-hoc training course developed in-house while employees at the lone private shop recently licensed by the province plan to continue selling much the same way they had the previous three years, when it was an illicit dispensary. B.C. has not yet rolled out a dedicated course for retail staff that is common in most provinces, but says such training is coming “in the near future.”

Most provinces have created online courses and exams akin to what those serving alcohol must complete. However, several have gone further to include in-person classes.

Quebec, for example, requires anyone wanting a job at one of the dozen government cannabis outlets to complete a course with more than 20 hours of studying. The course, created in conjunction with the provincial health ministry, educates staff on the variety of legal products and their possible effects as well as how to consume the drug responsibly, according to an SAQ spokesperson. The course culminates in a day of classroom training and then a final exam.

The 200 employees of Nova Scotia’s government-run cannabis outlets have taken a training course developed by media and marketing firm Lift & Co. in partnership with MADD Canada that takes five days of online study, classroom and in-store training, according to Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. spokeswoman Beverley Ware.

“It culminated with the employees meeting all of our Licensed Producers,” she said in an e-mailed statement. “It was an opportunity for them to meet our suppliers and ask any questions directly of them.”

Ontario is still deciding how to train staff at the private cannabis stores that are vying to become licensed to sell to the largest consumer base in the country.

In Saskatchewan and Alberta, where only private businesses are licensed for storefront cannabis sales, staff must complete online training courses developed by the government. Alberta began offering its SellSafe online training in May for $26.25 and has so far certified 1,852 people to sell the drug, according to its provincial cannabis regulator.

Nick Pateras, vice-president of strategy at Lift & Co., said his company’s training modules help staff direct consumers to the best products while navigating the strict marketing rules set out by the federal government, which is loathe to be seen as promoting the use of the drug.

“You can’t talk about how a specific strain or cultivar is going to make you feel energetic as opposed to this other one that makes you feel more relaxed,” said Mr. Pateras, whose company has also had its training system officially adopted by Prince Edward Island. "But there is a lot of information around those topics that can still help people make the right decisions for them."

Almost three-quarters of current cannabis consumers and 69 per cent of people considering buying legal marijuana considered strong product knowledge as the most critical feature of any store selling the drug, according to a survey conducted earlier this year by Deloitte. A quarter of respondents in the firm’s survey said it was their most important consideration when deciding where to buy cannabis.

Cannabis consultant and lobbyist Jamie Shaw, a former dispensary director in Vancouver, fears new and old users alike will be turned off by their experience at legal outlets because they are being sold “a product that you’re not being told anything about except a couple vague warnings."

"If you’re a member of certain older dispensaries in Vancouver, you’re not going to have a very good experience at a licensed retail store,” said Ms. Shaw, who represents a dozen aspiring retailers across B.C., Alberta and Ontario.