Territorial government seeks more suppliers, eyes physical stores

By Nunatsiaq News

Nunavut residents have so far bought 4.2 kilograms of legal recreational cannabis through the Tweed.com online store, a Government of Nunavut spokesperson told Nunatsiaq News on Friday, Jan. 18.

That represents 1,147 online orders between Oct. 17, 2018, the day when recreational cannabis became legal, and the end of last December, generating about $17,000 in sales revenues.

“The Government of Nunavut will also receive cannabis taxes on these sales,” the spokesperson said.

Tweed is the brand name for a line of recreational cannabis products produced by Canopy Growth of Smiths Falls, Ont.

Right now, its online shop, Tweed.com, is the only outlet from which Nunavut residents are allowed to buy cannabis legally.

For Nunavut residents, Tweed.com offers dried marijuana only, through a range of four products. Three of them—Highlands Bud, Lemon Skunk Bud and Sativa Bud—contain a high THC content, ranging up to 27 per cent.

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main psychoactive component of cannabis and is favoured for the euphoric high it produces.

But no cannabis oil products, such as capsules, and no products with a high CBD content are available to Nunavut consumers, though one product on Tweed.com, Balanced Bud, is labelled as containing equal levels of CBD and THC.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is a component of cannabis favoured for its medical and therapeutic properties, and is widely used to treat pain, anxiety, PTSD, epilepsy and other disorders.

And unlike other legal retail outlets, the GN store on Tweed.com doesn’t sell any accessories, such as pipes, bongs, vaporizers and storage containers.

GN seeks more suppliers

There’s a possibility that Nunavut consumers might see those limited options expand in the future, though.

Since the beginning of last November, the Government of Nunavut has sought expressions of interest from companies interested in producing, buying and selling cannabis products on its behalf.

That includes finding suppliers in addition to Canopy Growth, as well as businesses interested in setting up physical cannabis stores in communities to sell product acquired from licenced producers.

“The newly renamed NULC [Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Commission] will now be considering appointing additional supply agents to sell online and, eventually, may choose to expand into or allow for physical stores within communities,” the GN request for expressions of interest says.

On the issue of physical stores, the GN seems interested in compiling a list of pre-qualified vendors who could work with suppliers to set up physical stores at some point in the future.

Nationwide supply shortage

But for at least a year and perhaps longer, licensed legal cannabis suppliers and retailers across Canada will likely struggle with a serious supply shortage.

That’s because the supply of legally produced cannabis is still too low to keep up with demand and licensed cannabis retailers in most regions have been running out of stock in their online and physical stores.

This past October, the C.D. Howe Institute published a report that estimated that in the full first year of legalization, Canadian consumers will likely demand about 610 tonnes of legal cannabis.

But the supply of legally produced cannabis is likely to reach only about 210 tonnes.

That means the amount of legal supply in Canada this year will equal only 30 to 60 per cent of demand, driving consumers back into the black market and causing governments to lose an estimated $800 million in tax revenue, the report said.

With files from Sarah Rogers