BC Strike Threatens Cannabis Supply
A BC strike is showing another crack in the Canadian cannabis system as the British Columbia General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) work action threatens cannabis supply in the province.
“We have about a week or two of healthy inventory,” said Cannabis Cottage owner Mariana Wolff. “But it is going to start to feel like empty shelves in the middle or beginning of next week.”
Like Ontario, the BC government has a monopoly on wholesale cannabis in the province. That means retailers have no choice but to buy from the BC Liquor Distribution Branch. But with the BC strike, all LDB distribution centres – which provide provincial retailers with cannabis as well as liquor – are closed. Cannabis retailers cannot order new supply.
A budtender at Cannabis Cottage sympathized with the strikers. But she’s worried about her job, too.
“As an employee, I support workers’ rights but at the same time I’m also a worker and I don’t know if I’ll have a job next week. It’s concerning,” said budtender Jaimie Miller-Haywood.
She feels the BC strike is just one of many reasons why the BC wholesale cannabis should open up in the province.
“It never should have been through distribution branch in the first place,” she said. “I feel like retailers and their staff should have a better relationship with the producer.”
Owner Wolff agreed. “(The current system is) too restricted,” Wolff said. “It’s over-regulated and that actually is contributing to the healthy thriving status of the illicit cannabis industry that is still very much alive, especially in the Interior of British Columbia.”
BC Strike Reveals One of Many Cracks in the Canadian Cannabis System – LPC
A similar thing to the BC strike happened in Ontario when a cyberattack on a third-party supplier essentially shut down the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS). Here too, a single kink in the system meant that cannabis shortage loomed in Ontario.
The OCS monopoly has had other negative implications in Ontario as well. Craft cannabis struggles for shelf space among the bigger players, which is no good for smaller producers or consumers. Undercutting private retailers and compliance conflict of interest are also ways some feel that Ontario is killing cannabis retail. On August 22, 2022, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce publicly called for deregulation of wholesale cannabis and the “urgent need for reform”.
Down the street from Cannabis Cottage, Green Gaia Cannabis Co. has temporarily closed its Penticton location and further reduced hours at another location due to the BC strike.
“Due to a lack of product availability and alternative options, our operating hours are being temporarily reduced. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” read the social media post.
Canada’s cannabis industry needs to be fixed at both the federal and provincial levels, the BC strike and Ontario cyberattack underline. Here’s hoping those fixes come quickly.
Read the Full Story at Global News
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