Got weed? NSLC wants to hear from potential cannabis suppliers

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. is asking cannabis producers interested in supplying NSLC stores to provide details about their operations, products they can provide and the timelines under which they could deliver them.

The request for information released Thursday is intended to serve as a "complete scan of the industry," said NSLC spokesperson Beverley Ware.

 "[It's] so we can understand who's out there," she said. "That will be everybody from the small scale to the large producers."

The provincial agency noted it anticipates selling products in five cannabis sub-categories:

• Dried flowers
• Pre-rolled
• Clones and seeds
• Oil extract
• Accessories

The corporation said a more formal "expression of interest" is expected to begin in February.

Ware said any interested party can contact the NSLC about becoming a supplier, but they will have to be licensed by Health Canada.

"Securing a reliable supply really is at the top of the list of our priorities," she said.

In early December, the province announced cannabis would be sold alongside alcohol at some NSLC locations, but a list of the specific locations has not yet been released. 

The goal of the liquor corporation is to ensure there is enough product to open them all at the same time, Ware said, although she admits that in the beginning the NSLC expects demand will likely exceed supply.  

"We can't meet the entire market all at once," said Ware. "Our supply and distribution will evolve over time."

Justice Minister Mark Furey also said Thursday it still isn't yet clear what the retail model will look like or how many NSLC stores will carry cannabis.

"The Nova Scotia Liquor Commission are working through those next steps of actually what that will look like and how it will be presented within the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission environment," he said.

Furey said an announcement should happen in the near future.

The legal age to use, possess or purchase cannabis will be 19 in Nova Scotia, which is also the legal drinking age.

The Trudeau government introduced legislation in April 2017 with the goal of legalizing marijuana by July 2018, but left it to the provinces to determine details such as how it will be sold.