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Aurora Cannabis — among the country’s largest producers of medical marijuana — is considering owning retail shops once the drug is legalized next summer, potentially posing a threat to mom-and-pop operations that are already angling to open storefronts.

Cam Battley, Aurora’s executive vice-president, said the $914-million company has “looked pretty darn closely” at opening brick-and-mortar cannabis stores, “market-by-market across the country.”

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Aurora, along with other large federally licensed producers, could theoretically seize a considerable share of the retail market, if government permitted the move.

The company appears to have faced no problems raising money and owns two large grow facilities in Alberta, including a massive greenhouse under construction near Edmonton.

But Battley said smaller outfits looking to get into retail marijuana shouldn’t fret.

“If we want a system that is broadly accepted and embraced, and is sustainable, it’s important to carve out room for the little guy,” Battley said in an interview.