Smiths Falls cannabis company Tweed prepares for privatized pot sales

Monday’s announcement to eventually privatize legal marijuana sales has Ontario cannabis business Canopy Growth delighted.

Just a day after the government’s announcement, workers at Tweed, Canopy Growth’s Smiths Falls location, have already begun preparations to jump into the privatized pot industry.

Earlier this week, Ontario’s new PC government said that rather than selling cannabis through government-run stores like LCBO, which was the original plan for cannabis under the previous Liberal regime, come Oct. 17, cannabis will be sold online through the Ontario Cannabis Store, a government-run pot wholesaler.

But starting April 1, yet-to-be selected private locations will also be able to sell cannabis products to the public.

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As of Tuesday, Ontario has yet to announce which companies it will be buying its cannabis from, but Tweed is hopeful they may be one of the provincial suppliers.

“We’re going to deal with millions of grams every day to try to get this to the market,” says Brian Sweet.

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When asked whether they will be ready for the Oct. 17 deadline, Sweet said that Tweed is prepared.

“We’ve got everything we need, we’ve got all the product and we’re starting to prepare for recreational at this moment.”

The pot supplier is also now preparing to possibly become a private retailer, something they say they have been hoping for since the beginning of their operation.

“We’re excited because of Premier Ford’s announcement, that we might be able to have our own retail shop here at Smiths Falls,” says Jordan Sinclair, VP of communications at Tweed.

They are currently putting the finishing touches on a visitor centre, where potential customers can peak behind Tweed’s production curtain, and perhaps be persuaded to purchase various products straight from the source of production.

Officials hope to take the term “gift shop” to a whole new level with the state-of-the-art visitor centre.

“The idea is to give the customers an interactive experience where visitors can watch different phases of production.”