CALGARY—An Oct. 17 date has been set for the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada, but questions remain about Alberta’s plans for selling cannabis online.

Bill C-45, the legislation that will lift Canada’s prohibition on recreational marijuana, received royal assent Thursday, clearing the way for the fall legalization deadline.

Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission officials and Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley emphasized Thursday that the provincial system for online sales will “absolutely” be up and running by the legalization date.

The province is allowing private marijuana retailers to open brick-and-mortar stores, but online sales of cannabis will be handled by the AGLC. AGLC president and CEO Alain Maisonneuve said the commission is looking at having 300 products available for consumers — including dry leaves, oils and a variety of package sizes — but contracts with cannabis suppliers are still being finalized.

AGLC officials didn’t specify whether they plan to use vendors other than Canada Post to deliver marijuana to Albertans, but Maisonneuve said they are “definitely working” with “suppliers like Canada Post” to put a delivery system in place.

“Canada Post has great experience in delivering, currently, medical cannabis to Canadians” Maisonneuve said. “We will work with common carriers like Canada Post to ensure ... the best ability to count on age verification of the people at the door so that we ensure we’re delivering products only to adults in Alberta.”

One part of the province’s framework for legalization is limiting the illegal marijuana market, and Maisonneuve said that while he couldn’t yet specify how products would be priced, markup is likely to be minimal at the beginning of legalization in order to “drive out” illegal sales.

“We will have to compete with the illegal marketplace and we are going to be pricing ourselves accordingly,” he says.

The AGLC is also working on a timeline to make sure product is delivered to retailers in time to stock their shelves by the planned legalization date.

In March, technology company OnX Enterprise Solutions won a three-year contract to develop the province’s online cannabis sales platform.

OnX spokesperson Roger Hamshaw wouldn’t comment on the company’s work with the AGLC, saying OnX isn’t authorized to discuss the project’s status.

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