For most consumers across the country, buying cannabis legally is a new concept.
So for those who don’t use medical marijuana and don’t know much about retail cannabis, Global News did the asking for you.
We went to Nova Cannabis, the largest interim cannabis retailer in Alberta on Oct. 16.
Global News spoke with the company’s in-store educator Jerell Mananghaya, as well as Shelley Girard, the vice-president of brand strategy development for Alcanna, Nova Cannabis’ parent company.
Global News: When a customer comes in, what is the first thing they’re going to do?
Jerell Mananghaya: They’re going to be asked for their ID because we’re not going to let any minors into our store.
Global News: What can consumers expect when they come to a store like Nova?
Shelley Girard: Our main focus is to ensure customers are feeling comfortable and confident. They may feel overwhelmed; they may have lots of questions — likely they have lots of questions. They can expect to have a highly engaged staff asking them them lots of questions, listening to what it is they’re looking for out of cannabis or out of these products, and then helping them navigate the store.
Global News: What types of cannabis are we talking about? How many different strains?
Mananghaya: We’re going to have roughly 30 different strains — from Sativa to Indica to Hybrid — and there’s also going to be a lot of different ways they can consume that. So they can have dry flower — 1 gram, 3.5-gram packages, pre-rolls, the edible oils as well as the capsules. No pre-made edibles, like cookies or chocolates or things like that.
Global News: How do consumers know the strength they should go with?
Mananghaya: For detecting strengths for people, it really depends on their exposure — their previous exposure that they’ve had to cannabis. The TCH (Tetrahydrocannabinol) percentage will range anywhere from I believe one per cent to as high as 25 per cent and up. And the CBD (Cannabidiol) will be anywhere from I believe one per cent to as high as 18 per cent.
Global News: Will consumers get to handle the products?
Girard: Our cannabis products will be in our vault, so they won’t be able to handle the cannabis. We do have sensory jars — we will have 15 sensory jars or sniffer jars — where customers can get an up-close look at the flower or the bud, as well as be able to smell the aromas from that particular strain. They will not be able to handle the cannabis.
Global News: Why is that?
Girard: It’s important that we’re keeping our product in our vault. It’s a regulation that we are complying with that the cannabis product must be kept and stored in our vault at all times until the point of purchase.
If consumers are looking to get information on the health effects or side effects of cannabis, they won’t be able to get it at the retail level.
Mananghaya and Girard both said current laws prevent staff from giving out that information.
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