AGLC lifts moratorium on new retail cannabis licences

Alberta Gaming Liquor Cannabis has lifted the moratorium on new retail cannabis licences, the governing body announced on Thursday.

“Due to a steady increase in AGLC’s cannabis supply, the moratorium on accepting new retail licence applications and issuing new retail licences has been lifted,” the AGLC said on its website.

New licences were halted in November 2018, after the AGLC said it had only received 20 per cent of the cannabis that had been ordered for producers.

Near the end of January, the provincial body said supply had increased enough to issue only 10 new licences after switching to a different supplier.

Twenty-six more stores were issued licences in April.

The AGLC says it will now issue five retail cannabis licences a week to allow it to monitor the supply to make sure it remains consistent for all retailers. The onboarding process time will vary by location, due to each location’s unique needs.

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To issue the licences, the AGLC said it will continue to work down the queue that it has created. First in line will get the first licences and they will work down from there.

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As of Wednesday, the group had 443 applicants representing 473 pending applications, 110 applications had withdrawn since the temporary ban was put in place and 115 applications had been approved and are waiting for a licence, the AGLC said.

The AGLC currently has contracts with 26 federally licensed cannabis producers.