- AGLC signs on Blissco and High Park to licensed producer list
- Alberta cannabis supplies remain too low to lift retail licence freeze, AGLC says
- Some new LPs have not yet shipped any cannabis
Alberta’s sole cannabis wholesaler – Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) – has added two more licensed producers to its roster of suppliers amid a nation-wide shortage of legal pot supplies, but there is still no end in sight to the province’s retail licence freeze as some of the newest cultivators have yet to ship product.
This month, AGLC signed on Blissco Cannabis Corp. and High Park Farms, a subsidiary of Tilray, Inc., bringing its list of Licensed Producers (LPs) to 21. This followed a flurry of supply agreements made earlier this year with Tantalus Labs, Broken Coast Cannabis, AgMedica Bioscience Inc., and Zenabis Global Inc., which were expected to deliver cannabis to Alberta sometime this month.
“It’s good that we have more LPs but there’s still not enough stable stock to warrant opening up the licensing process again. We haven’t received product yet because they’re still in the midst of getting it to us and some of them won’t be producing until later on,” said Chara Goodings, AGLC spokeswoman, referring to the province’s newest suppliers.
“We’ve signed some of them knowing they won’t be able to produce until later on. Some won’t be producing until the end of the year.”
Some of the producers are “very small,” Ms. Goodings added.
Alberta privatized retail cannabis when recreational pot was legalized in October and, as a result, the province has the largest number of licensed stores in the country at 75. But the national supply shortage caused AGLC to place a pseudo-moratorium on new retail licences to ensure the stores that have opened are able to access enough cannabis to conduct viable business.
“Anything we’re getting is still not enough to allow us to grant more licences. We’ve still got a way to go until we’ve got enough that’s stable to make sure that everyone is viable,” she said.
A handful of cannabis stores are set to open in Ontario, Canada’s biggest market, in April. This will put further pressure on national cannabis supplies as many LPs are still in the process of expanding their operations to ramp up production.