The City of Calgary recently released a list of addresses that were approved to sell cannabis which includes some big grocery chains such as Calgary Co-op and the Real Canadian Superstore.
All in all, 12 Calgary Co-ops, 7 Real Canadian Superstores, and 1 Real Canadian Liquor Store have been approved by the city, and Calgary Co-op is already in the process of hiring managers for its cannabis retail locations, which will all be unionized, according to Calgary Co-op’s cannabis senior director Jeff Riege.
“Some will be ready for the Oct. 17 legalization date but others are being built from the ground up. So far, most members and staff are enthusiastic about the foray into the new market”, Riege told CBC.
At the moment, Calgary Co-op sells liquor, gas, and fresh produce, and its plans for cannabis retail include all 300 or so products being locking behind cabinets. Although you won’t be able to touch the cannabis, there are plans for “sniff jars” for certain types and strains of cannabis.
Four of Calgary’s malls have also been approved for cannabis retail: Chinook Centre, Southcentre Mall, Deerfoot City Mall, and Midnapore Mall.
Coffee chain Second Cup will also be getting a little more like Amsterdam as 3 of its locations also got approved, with National Access Cannabis to run the dispensaries (whose leadership includes former RCMP officers and the former CEO of Tweed).
It should be noted that currently, there are no plans for consumption lounges in Calgary and city council has voted to ban public cannabis consumption as well, so you won’t be able to smoke inside the coffee shops like you would in Amsterdam and munchies aren’t allowed to be sold at any of the dispensaries, either, due to provincial regulations, according to CBC.
420 Premium Market has said that 7 of their 9 applications were approved and Newleaf Cannabis got 9 stores while 2 were rejected.
The City of Calgary said that as of Friday, Aug. 10, all of the applications to sell cannabis submitted in April have been reviewed. A map of all of the approved locations is included below, courtesy of Global News.
Featured image courtesy of Shikatani Lacroix.
Sources
CBC: Calgary Co-op gets ready to sell cannabis this fall.
The Star: Calgary Co-op among major cannabis retailers securing city approvals.