Ontario Passes 100 Cannabis Store Licences
Province Still Lags Behind, But Shows Hope in Growth – LPC
Ontario has passed 100 cannabis store licences according to Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) records. Although not all stores are open, it represents hope and growth in Ontario’s retail industry.
Experts say the continued growth through the COVID-19 pandemic is thanks to virtual inspections.
“If either the AGCO or the OCS decided to shut down… it would have been devastating to the store count for 2020,” said Toronto cannabis lawyer Matt Maurer.
The article (please see link below) also notes that Alberta leads the way still with 483 stores. The interesting thing is that it reports Alberta is reaching a saturation point. Alberta’s cannabis retailers been seen as the Gold Standard in Canada. What makes it interesting is that it gives a rough estimate of how many stores Ontario can support. Ontario has about 3.5 times the population of Alberta, which translates to approximately 1,700 cannabis retail stores.
“I think if the government… had the collective willpower, we could easily see more than 20 stores a month be licensed from here on out,” Maurer said. That still puts the saturation point several years into the future, but it would quickly dwarf the 100 cannabis store licences approved so far.
That’s something to celebrate.
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