Cannabis Retail Kicks Off in Quebec

The first legal locations to sell Cannabis in Quebec opened October 17th, 2018. The stores would offerthree different types of cannabis: Indica, which aids in relaxation; Sativa, which is used for inducing a cerebral, uplifting feeling and a blend of Sativa and Indica, also known as Hybrid.The quantities of THC and CBD, the active ingredients in cannabis, would also vary in the products.

The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) opened three stores in Montreal, and nine more in the rest of the province, they would also have an online store SQDC.ca where people can place their orderscannabis and have it sent to them by mail. The SQDC plans to set up about a hundred more locations through 2020, the locations would be at least 150 metres away from a school or daycare, and there would be none sited within malls. According to the SQDC, the new stores will have 130 of 150 eventual products, including accessories.

Stores will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.

According to the report on CBC.ca, the three stores at Montreal are at:

970 Ste-Catherine Street West, near Metcalfe Street.
9250 Acadie Boulevard.
6872 St-Hubert Street.

Customers would only be permitted to purchase 30 grams per visit, for about $5.25 – $9 per gram, the average price being $7 per gram. Quebec’s prices are the lowest across the country as the low prices are targeted at shutting down black market sales.

“One thing we are expecting is to get about 30 percent of the black market at the end of the first year which represents 50 metric tonnes of cannabis the first year,” said Jean-Francois Bergeron of the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) cited on CTV News.

Everyhome will be given the permission to keep up to 150 grams at home which they are required to store out of reach of children.

Buyers can choose between dried buds, ground cannabis, pre-rolled joints, or cannabis oil, pills, or oral spray.

On how they intend to sell the products to customers, Bergeron says “We will guide them through the product attributes but we will not promote any products. So we will not say if you want that feeling, if you want that effect, use that product instead of this one. This is really clear; we will not promote any product as such.”

He says every advice offered to the customer would be made from a safety perspective, rather than a promotion standpoint.

“We will explain the segregation of the products, we will explain the effects, we will explain as well the negative effects. Again, it’s really from a safety and security perspective that we do what we do. This is clear in our mission,” he said.

There will be no self-service in the stores.

The nine locations across the province include: