Newfoundland and Labrador’s first homegrown cannabis crop has hit dispensary shelves in the Atlantic province.

Corner Brook-based craft cannabis company BeeHighVe has sent out its first shipments after forging a sales agreement with Dominion C-Stores, a Newfoundland grocery and cannabis retailer.

Before the company received nods from Health Canada and the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corp., all licensed cannabis products for sale in the province were shipped in or derived from cannabis cultivated in other parts of the country.

The successful shipment is good news for staff, many of whom had been temporarily laid off, with the company having received the green light from federal and provincial authorities just before the COVID-19 pandemic put a freeze on licensing.

“We haven’t been making money since we started this,” company president Rita Hall told CBC News, noting that several employees will be returning to work next week.

“Financially, it’s critical for us to be at this point right now where we’re actually bringing money in, and able to keep people employed and be operational.”

Currently, the company’s cannabis selection is limited to two available cultivars – Route 440 and Vinland Diesel, nods to a N-L west coast highway and Viking settler, respectively. Other Newfoundland-themed cultivars (Captain Cooked, Newfie Bullet, and CBDevine) as well as bee-themed cultivars (like CBeeD and BeeBomb) should be available sometime this month.

As its name would suggest, the company also produces honey – and plans to release cannabis-infused honey edibles are in the works.

Some Newfoundlanders looking to sample the latest local wares, however, may have to wait a little longer; so far, BeeHighve products have only been sent to stores in Labrador City, Portugal Cove-St Philip’s, and provincial capital St John’s.