Cannabis retail stores are coming to Nunavut, the territorial government announced on Tuesday. 

They will begin accepting retail applications on June 1. 

The territory that nearly 40,000 people call home passed its Cannabis Act in June 2018, but only two companies — Canopy Growth and AgMedica Bioscience Inc — have been permitted to sell their products since then, with customers ordering online or over the phone.  

According to a government document, both enclosed stores and “integrated stores” — cannabis sales within existing retail stores — will be permitted. Standalone stores will be allowed to display a small amount of product but cannabis products in integrated stores will be kept behind lock and key. Additionally, physical retailers will also be eligible to be licensed for online sales and telephone orders.

As part of Nunavut’s retail process, community consultation will be required before any retail licenses are granted. The consultation period is 60 days for the initial store in a community and 30 days for any subsequent stores. According to the Nunavut Cannabis Retailers Handbook, applications will take 30 days to process.

The introduction of retail stores should take a bite out of the illicit market in the territory. Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Lightstone has been critical of the lack of Nunavut retailers in the past.

“Right now, Nunavut is reliant on the black market to supply cannabis sales in the territory,” he told the Nunavut News last year. “With the amount of cannabis consumption in the territory and the fact that all that money is being funnelled out, siphoned out by the black market, I find that unacceptable.”

 The territory’s Cannabis Act was the last provincial or territorial act to pass in the country. 

Alberta continues to lead the nation in cannabis retails stores, with more than 400 stores currently open. Yukon and Northwest Territories each have five physical stores up and running. 

“Allowing licensed private businesses to import and sell cannabis will give Nunavummiut more access to safer legal recreational cannabis,” the release said. “The licensing regime includes strict rules to combat the illegal market and protect Nunavut’s youth.”