Cannabis NB Makes Way For 10 Privately Run Stores
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s cannabis Crown Corporation is widening its private sector footprint in the province.
On September 7, Cannabis NB disclosed plans to open 10 private retail stores across the province in Hampton, St. Andrews, Grand Bay, Bouctouche, Caraquet, Dalhousie, St-Quentin, Blackville, Chipman, and Salisbury.
The ten private stores won’t sell cannabis under the Cannabis NB name but will be privately owned and operated under their own brands.
Cannabis NB will be choosing private retailers to open the business through a public tendering process. That process opened and began accepting applications a day before the announcement, on September 6.
“They will be legal and licensed to sell cannabis in New Brunswick, and will offer a full portfolio of legal, regulated products across all categories, sourced from Cannabis NB,” says a release announcing the news.
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This expansion of Cannabis NB’s retail model is part of an evolution strategy that will make it easier for New Brunswickers to access legal, safe cannabis products, notes the release.
Cannabis NB CEO Lori Stickles said the opening of the private locations is a bid to provide better access to safe, regulated cannabis products in underserved parts of New Brunswick and combat the cannabis black market.
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“We are looking forward to expanding our offering to include private retail in New Brunswick,” Stickles said.
The plans for ten new private retail locations are the result of work that began in 2021 when the Higgs government proposed amendments to the law to allow Cannabis NB to open private retail stores.
These amendments also paved the way for the FarmGate retail model, which allows cannabis producers to sell cannabis, on-site at their locations.
The first FarmGate operation that opened in New Brunswick was Shediac Cape-based Crystal Cure.