Marijuana plants are pictured during a tour of Tweed Inc. in Smiths Falls, Ont., on Thursday, January 21, 2016. Redcliff is about to see its first cannabis retail outlet open. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
One year after the legalization of marijuana, Redcliff is about to see its first cannabis retail outlet open.
That adds to 11 approved marijuana stores in Medicine Hat, making for a dozen in the greater Hat area opened over the past 12 months.
The Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis Commission list of licensed retailers now shows that the “Green Peace Hempire” would be located at Unit 3, 631 S. Railway Drive, a strip mall that is accessed by way of Mitchell Street.
Calls were not returned after the News left messages at a phone number attached to the application, but records show the corporation is registered with a Redcliff address, suggesting local ownership.
The business is one of several applications filed with the town for development, though the provincial regulator has final say about granting sales licences.
Its list of licensed retailers has grown from 16 on legalization day last October to 311 locations across the province as of Tuesday.
The Redcliff location, combined with Medicine Hat’s, are the only outlets of a swath in southeast Alberta, from Lethbridge (15) and Brooks (4) to Swift Current, Sask. (1).
Recently, the Lethbridge-based independent chain “Bridge Bud Supply” applied for a location in Taber.
Movement in Maple Creek
There’s a new effort to open a cannabis location in Maple Creek.
That province’s regulator announced 51 winners of a retail licence lottery in the fall of 2018. However, since several enterprises have been unable to open, runners-up in the draw are being given the opportunity.
That includes a licence for Maple Creek, originally awarded to a numbered company from British Columbia.
The CBC in Saskatchewan reported last month that a partnership from Calgary has the chance to open shop in the town 100 kilometres east of Medicine Hat.
Originally, 15 applicants vied for the single licence available in Maple Creek. There were 56 applicants in Swift Current.
Hat shop bought
A recently opened pot store on Third Street in Medicine Hat has been sold to another retail chain, the purchaser announced on Tuesday.
Vancouver-based Choom has acquired 10 Alberta locations opened under the Clarity Cannabis brand, including the Gas City location at 643 Third Street, one in Brooks and seven in smaller centres.
Choom plans to open an additional 12 locations in the province in early 2020, a release from the company states.
