- AGLC adds Tantalus, Broken Coast, AgMedica, Zenabis as suppliers
- Cannabis from new LPs expected in Alberta by end of March
- Retail licence moratorium remains in place despite additional LPs
Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) has signed on four new recreational pot suppliers, three months after placing a moratorium on retail licences due to inadequate inventories, but the sole provincial wholesaler is not yet ready to lift the temporary freeze on new store permits.
This week, AGLC brought its number of licensed producers (LPs) to 19 and product from the four new growers – most of which are based in British Columbia – is expected to arrive by March.
“We will not be lifting the moratorium as we have just signed contracts and haven’t received any product yet,” said Chara Goodings, spokeswoman for AGLC.
“We will continue to monitor our stock levels to ensure they are consistent and stable enough to support additional stores and until we start receiving stock I can’t speculate on how much our inventory will increase.”
AGLC just signed on B.C.-based Tantalus Labs and Broken Coast Cannabis, and Ontario-based AgMedica Bioscience Inc., Ms. Goodings said.
This comes after Zenabis Global Inc., also based in British Columbia with facilities in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, said on Tuesday it signed a supply agreement with Alberta to provide seven strains of its recreational cannabis.
AGLC recently issued 10 additional retail licences amid the moratorium it imposed in November due to insufficient supplies, bringing the province’s number of licensed private stores to 75. This represents the largest number of legal pot stores in Canada. Twenty-five stores are expected to open in Ontario on April 1, before more licences are expected to be issued later in the year.
Tantalus Labs and Broken Coast are relatively small LPs but their offerings include several high-THC strains of dried flower, something retailers say is in high demand and sells out fast due to low supplies.