Fresh is best.
A motto many live by when it comes to meat, dairy, produce and anything else that goes into your body 鈥� including cannabis.
ShuCanna, a Salmon Arm dispensary, is taking the motto to heart and recently underwent the process to be licensed as a farmgate Producer Retail Store, meaning they can grow cannabis onsite, package it and sell it in their store in a much faster process than other dispensaries.
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The process usually involves buying and waiting to receive product through the B.C. Liquor and Cannabis Distribution Branch, after it has been grown elsewhere, cultivated, packaged and approved, which can take up to a year, said ShuCanna owner and president Terry Robinson.
Through the farmgate program, consumers are getting much fresher cannabis, which the ShuCanna team has heard is being very well received.
The Salmon Arm site is the only licenced Producer Retail Store in B.C., although two others are in the licensing process at this time.
Though the province has previously listed two other farmgate stores, licenced through special arrangements with two Indigenous-owned cannabis producers, these are not listed by the province as Producer Retail Stores, reads an by David Brown for the StratCann publication.
Robinson said the process is expensive, costing $10,000 upfront to apply and get started, with additional costs for municipal licensing, stocking and staffing, which can be deterring a lot of other growers and retailers to go for it, but the freshness and quality aspects were important to him and his team.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no guarantee with that you鈥檒l get a licence, and it took us over a year,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e not in a retail store in an urban centre, it maybe wouldn鈥檛 be worthwhile.鈥�
ShuCanna is located at 2321 9th Ave. SW, adjacent to the TransCanada Highway on the frontage road, beside the XCalibur car wash and Travelodge. Robinson said he hopes the location, on the way to Walmart and highly visible to tourists and locals alike, will be successful as they only got the licence a few months ago.
The fresh smell and quality of products will certainly travel through word of mouth either way, said Leah Hermann, sales manager.
鈥淚t鈥檚 that farm-to-table concept,鈥� she explained. 鈥淐raft growers usually know what they鈥檙e doing. It鈥檚 hand-trimmed, hand-rolled, hand-closed, and that attention is important on a consumer standpoint.鈥�
The cost to start a farmgate licence has been a hurdle for most retailers, as the other two in the process, Victoria Cannabis Co. and another in the Vancouver region, explained in Brown鈥檚 StratCann cannabis article. Out of more than 100 eligible growers, only these three have taken the first steps.
But Robinson eagerly applied as soon as the program began late last year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a family business and we wanted to pursue that, and do it this way, farm fresh,鈥� he said of the ability to grow and monitor the product onsite.
ShuCanna has been running a soft launch since August but has a grand opening event on Friday, Oct. 27. There will be promotions and deals running from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for those 19 years of age or older. ShuCanna can also sell anything cannabis-related in the provincial distribution system, including vape pens and other accessories.
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