AMHERST, N.S. - Amherst’s Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation store will be ready to sell cannabis when the drug is legalized later this month.
Members from the corporation responsible for the sale of recreational cannabis products provided a tour of Amherst’s cannabis section inside the Superstore NSLC outlet on Oct. 1.
“We feel we’re in a very good position. When we were told we were going to be the retailers of cannabis we didn’t waste any time getting ready,” Heather MacDougal, director of policy and public affairs for the NSLC, told the Amherst News. “The stores look great and we’ve been active with our what to expect campaign and we really hope Nova Scotians and customers will read that information so they’ll be ready too.”
Cannabis will be sold in 12 stores across the province, including Amherst (which is the only outlet in Cumberland County). It will be available in five formats from pre-packaged dried cannabis flowers, seeds, pre-rolled cannabis, cannabis oil and gel caps.
The Amherst store is approximately 950 square feet and between six to eight employees have been trained to work in the cannabis section. As well, people can pay for their alcohol products in the cannabis store, but they cannot pay for their cannabis products in the main part of the store.
Also, the store will not be selling medical marijuana products – just recreational.
It will also sell accessories such as grinders, vaporizers, hand pipes and papers.
MacDougall is expecting things will be very busy in the days and weeks following Oct. 17 – the day the federal government has set for the legal use of recreational cannabis.
“We’re telling customers to expect some lineups, but they can also order their cannabis products online if they don’t want to deal with lineups,” she said. “Canada Post is the delivery agent for pretty much everyone across the country.”
People entering the cannabis sections of each NSLC will see key messages as they enter the store, including the requirement to be at least age 19, to need to store cannabis safely and not to drive while using cannabis.
“Once they come in they will also see a concierge who is there to help them with information on the different strains we’ll be carrying,” she said. “There will also be information on tablets for customers to learn more or needing a bit more time to decide which product they wish to purchase. We’re hoping what they will see is a bright, open, inviting environment in which they can come in learn more and purchase their recreational cannabis.”
She said everyone working in the cannabis stores has undergone “rigorous” training to help customers purchase cannabis based on the experience they wish to enjoy.
While the debate over the legalization of cannabis has been divisive at times and policing agencies have questioned the added expense of enforcement, MacDougall said the response to the stores has been positive.
“We’re treating recreational cannabis the same as any other product we offer,” she said. “Everything we do in the NSLC to make sure customers have a great shopping experience will be present in the cannabis section.”
Twitter: @ADNdarrell
