Cannabis NB opening three new urban stores to compete with illegal market
What was once the location of an illegal dispensary in Saint John is about to become the new uptown storefront for Cannabis NB, as the crown corporation competes to sway customers from illicit shops.
“It really does speak to the fact that there is a market in uptown Saint John, and we want to be there to be able to capture that market and offer the access to the safe, reliable products,” said Lori Stickles, Cannabis NB’s president and CEO, in an interview.
An illegal dispensary was shut down last week, a block away from Cannabis NB’s new location in Saint John. A dispensary in Moncton was also shut down.
Since April 2023, a total of 23 illegal cannabis dispensaries have been investigated and shut down across New Brunswick. It’s estimated, anecdotally by Cannabis NB, that half of all cannabis sales in the province are illegal.
The new Cannabis NB location in uptown Saint John is expected to be open by mid-April. Cannabis NB is also opening a new location in downtown Fredericton on Queen Street, and in Moncton on Mountain Road around the same time.
Stickles said the new locations were in “underserviced areas.”
“We didn’t necessarily have a lot of opportunities for some of these locations, at launch,” said Stickles, noting initial uncertainty by some property owners in more visible locations before October 2018. “It’s very exciting to (now) be partnering with these landlords.”
Cannabis NB said 25 new employees would be hired for the three new stores, with building leases spanning two-to-five years. Right now, Cannabis NB operates 25 retail locations across the province.
Brad Poulos, an industry expert and business instructor at Toronto Metropolitan University, said increasing accessibility of regulated cannabis supported the primary reasons for legalization.
“Those were keeping cannabis out of the hands of youth, and getting organized crime out of the picture, which really then translates to eliminating that illicit market,” said Poulos. “It’s actually been proven that if you increase access to legal cannabis it lowers the amount of participation by the illicit market, which does itself actually lower use by youth because that’s their primary conduit into cannabis. We’ve seen that in the United States, as well as early studies in Canada.”
New Brunswick’s first privately operated cannabis store opened last June, and a new private retail location will open this summer in Saint Andrews following previous debate in the community about retail formats.
Cannabis NB’s ‘FarmGate’ program has allowed licensed New Brunswick cannabis producers to sell their own products onsite at their own facilities since 2021.
For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.