Shoppers Drug Mart is looking to hire a brand manager for medical marijuana in Toronto, even though the chain is not currently approved by Health Canada to distribute the drug.
The online job posting states the full-time senior brand manager role will be responsible for leading the medical brand strategy for cannabis and all marketing activities with physicians and health-care providers.
“The development and integration of the medical brand plan will involve the consideration of the current cannabis market; legislation, regulations and access challenges,” the posting notes.
The successful candidate is required to have four to six years in business management experience in the pharmacy or pharmaceutical industry, as well as two years of direct or indirect accountability in developing annual marketing plans.
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The drugstore chain had applied to Health Canada under its parent company, Loblaw Companies Ltd., for a license to dispense medical marijuana in October 2016.
Shoppers previously said it has no plans to start growing pot itself, but that they would buy it from a grower.
Under current federal regulations, the only legal distribution method for medical marijuana is by mail order from licensed producers direct to consumers.
The federal government is also moving towards a July 2018 deadline to make recreational marijuana legal, but Loblaws’ CEO said last year the company is only interested in medical cannabis.
— With files from The Canadian Press