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ATHOLVILLE, N.B. — New Brunswick says it has become the first province to fully secure its supply of recreational marijuana.

It announced a memorandum of understanding with Zenabis to provide four million grams of cannabis and derivative products with a retail value of about $40 million.

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The province previously signed similar agreements with Organigram and Canopy Growth Corp., each worth about $40 million annually.

“We are committed to ensuring the legalization of cannabis is introduced in a safe and secure way so we can get cannabis out of the hands of our youth and the proceeds from selling cannabis out of the hands of criminals,” Premier Brian Gallant said in a statement.

The Zenabis deal is expected to create about 450 jobs over the next two years in the village of Atholville.

“New Brunswick becomes (the) first province in Canada to fully secure supply of cannabis and cannabis products for all its consumers,” Zenabis and the province said in a joint press release on Monday.