The timeline for the new wave of REC retail in Ontario begins January 6, when the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario will begin accepting applications for its new supposedly “open-market” approach. As of April, the province is expected to license 20 new REC stores per month.
Global News, Twitter—GoBlueCDN
- Sole proprietors will move through the licensing process faster than companies and partnerships. Major REC retailers are beginning to take ownership of licenses individuals won in the first lottery.
Globe and Mail - For some, the decision to abandon the lottery system comes late—after they’ve spent a lot of money.
Financial Post, CBC Ottawa - The AGCO admitted that it was aware of a “law enforcement matter” that followed the widely-panned second REC retail lottery.
iPolitics, Globe and Mail
The Doing Business with OCS webpage shows the price the Ontario Cannabis Store pays for wholesale cannabis—and it’s a lot less than it sells it for. One Twitter user proposed possible markup math.
Twitter—WhatsMyPot, Aaron W. Anderson
- Ontario retailers may now sell non-accessories (like books and t-shirts, say) that relate “some direct way to cannabis or its use, such as an item that depicts cannabis or its use or that is wholly or partly cannabis-themed,” but they can’t sell refreshments.
Twitter—Matt Maurer - The Ontario Cannabis Store extended its same-day and next-day shipping pilot program outside of the centre of Toronto to the city’s suburbs.
Twitter—OCS
With farm-gate sales on the way, lawyer Trina Fraser wondered whether cultivators will be able to send their products out for processing, get them back, and then sell them in farm-gate shops, or whether only processors will be allowed to operate such stores.
- This opens questions about minimum processing percentages, OCS markups on sales back to LPs, changes to federal licenses, etc.
Twitter—Trina Fraser
Northern Ontario only has two REC stores, but is hoping to open 19 in the next year.
CBC Sudbury, CBC Thunder Bay
Dispensary Superette‘s inaugural Ottawa location made $7M in sales during its first five months. Soon Superette will open a Toronto location.
Now Toronto
