Canadian Cannabis Licensing 2019 Year in Review

As cannabis license consultants, we’ve been busy following the changes since legalization and we have written about licensing, regulations and other topics of interest to non-medical cannabis retailers.

The following is a summary of the cannabis licensing posts we published this year. Links open in a new tab.

In November, we published “BC Cannabis License Application Requirements and Facts You Might Not Know”. The post is a rundown of cannabis license application requirements and facts that are easily overlooked by would-be cannabis retailers.

We also posted “Cannabis Edibles and Topicals Now Legal in Canada. Hurry Up and Wait!”. The much-anticipated addition of edibles and topicals to permissible retail cannabis products was the biggest change to cannabis licensing in Canada. It came on October 17, 2019, exactly one year after the legalization of recreational cannabis. As we suggested, Canadian residents may have to wait a few months for edibles and topicals to appear on cannabis store shelves. The BC government “Get Cannabis Clarity Page” states that “Adult consumers can expect a limited selection of the new products to appear gradually in legal stores starting in late-December 2019”.

In September, we wrote “Retail Cannabis in Canada, Part 2: Average Monthly Recreational Cannabis Store Revenue in Canada”. In that post, we estimated retail cannabis store revenue by province, based on available Statistics Canada monthly recreational retail cannabis revenue figures.

Earlier that month, we published “Retail Cannabis in Canada, Part 1: Slow Growth but More Opportunity as the Legal Weed Market Matures”, which discusses the uneven cannabis licensing rollout from province to province and looks at total retail cannabis sales by province from October 2019 to June 2019.

In July, we published “Legal Retail Cannabis Stores in Canada on an Unlevel Playing Field…for Now”. Vancouver and Toronto had the greatest number of illegal retail cannabis stores, so those cities began court challenges, which they won, followed by an aggressive crackdown. Not long ago, Vancouver had about 10 unlicensed cannabis dispensaries. All of those shops have since been closed.

In June, we wrote “What the Vancouver Cannabis Licensing Process Can Teach You About Opening a Recreational Cannabis Store in BC or Alberta”. The post provides a high-level view of retail cannabis licensing in Vancouver, and discusses federal, provincial and local government roles in the license approval process.

In May, we published “Guidance and Training from a Cannabis License Consultant Protects Your Investment”. In this post, we discuss the importance of working with a cannabis license consultant to implement training and receive guidance that safeguards your investment and helps you remain compliant.

We also wrote “How Much Real-Word Experience Does Your Retail Cannabis License Consultant Have?”. Retail recreational cannabis is a new category of business in Canada, so how much experience can a cannabis license consultant have? Choosing a consultant who has experience working in the retail liquor licensing sector is the safer bet, because they understand government rules and regulations and know how to advocate on your behalf with provincial and local government.

In March, we published “Starting a Retail Cannabis Store? Here’s How to Protect Your Investment”. The post discusses the importance of understanding cannabis licensing regulations and how staff training, and policies and procedures manuals safeguard your license.

In January, we wrote “Retail Cannabis Store Staff Training Tips for Start-ups”. The post emphasizes the importance of training to a retail cannabis store’s success and provides 5 staff training tips.

Earlier that month, we published “Implementing Technology in Your Retail Cannabis Business”. In that short post, we talk about the importance of compliance and security measures for cannabis retailers, and link to an article published by Cannabis Retailer Magazine.

If your business needs help with cannabis licensing in Canada, work with Thrive Liquor & Cannabis Advisors. Rebecca and her team help businesses with cannabis license applications, compliance, training and formal policies that protect your investment.