British Columbia, Canada has signed agreements over production rights for the province’s adult-use cannabis market with 31 different licensed producers, the province’s Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) announced on Wednesday. The LDB will be B.C.’s sole wholesale distributor of cannabis.
All 31 of the cannabis cultivators are currently registered with Canada‘s federal government under the nation’s medical cannabis program.
“We are thrilled to be reaching this significant milestone in developing a competitive wholesale assortment for non-medical cannabis. The volume, variety and quality of our product assortment speak to the LDB’s commitment to working towards eliminating the illicit market.” — Blain Lawson, general manager and CEO of the Liquor Distribution Branch
Small craft cannabis growers, however, say they were shut out of the bidding process. Some advocates are now warning that consumers in British Columbia will only have access to products sourced from the large, corporate licensed producers and that small, local growers currently do not have a place in the legal market.
“I have been screaming at the provincial government for a year to do something about these regulations, and we are now about to drive off the cliff and there’s still no bridge.” — Ian Dawkins, president of the Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada, in a Canadian Press report
The LDB also announced on Wednesday that the first B.C. Cannabis Store will be located within Kamloops’ Columbia Place Shopping Centre.
Adult-use cannabis is set to become legal nationwide in Canada on October 17.
See below for an alphabetical list of the licensed producers who have signed up to provide cannabis for B.C.’s non-medical marketplace:
• Acreage Pharms Ltd.
• Agrima Botanicals Corporation
• Aphria Inc.
• Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc.
• Bloomera Inc.
• Broken Coast Cannabis Ltd.
• Canna Farms Ltd.
• CannTrust Inc.
• Canopy Growth Corporation
• Cronos Group Inc.
• DOJA Cannabis Ltd.
• Evergreen Medicinal Supply Inc.
• Experion Biotechnologies Inc.
• Hydropothecary
• Maricann Inc.
• MedReleaf Corp.
• Natural Med Company
• Redecan Pharm
• Seven Oaks Inc.
• Solace Health
• Starseed Medicinal Inc.
• THC BioMed Inc.
• The Flowr Corporation
• The Supreme Cannabis Company/7 Acres
• Tilray Canada Ltd.
• United Greeneries Ltd.
• UP Cannabis Inc.
• WeGrow BC Ltd.
• WeedMD RX Inc.
• Whistler Medical Marijuana Corp.
• Zenabis Ltd.