Sluggish cannabis retail in Canada’s largest province has been a sore point for everyday pot consumers and billion-dollar licenced producers alike since recreational legalization over a year ago. 

Provinces charted their own course in establishing legal alternatives to the black market, resulting in a patchwork of public and private channels for online and brick-and-mortar sales. No two markets are as often compared as Ontario and Alberta. 

One key difference is the fact that Ontario has opened just 24 physical cannabis stores versus about 300 in Alberta, a province with roughly 10 million fewer residents.

There are five cannabis stores in Lacombe – a city of about 14,000 people.

That means promoting your business is important, says Matt Panelli, co-owner of Merry Guanas.

The store is located on 49-B Avenue, a “side street,” which means it would be useful to have a billboard or any type of sign that would direct customers to the store, he explained.

But that’s nearly impossible with new regulations imposed by Health Canada. The rules, which kicked in Oct. 17, require retailers to have billboards no larger than 300 square centimetres – about the size of a half page of printer paper.

The Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis agency is responsible for enforcing the regulations.

“That is tiny,” said Panelli.

Edmonton city councillor Mike Nickel thinks towns across the country are neglecting regulations for cannabis cafes.

“Cannabis lounges are going to come,” he told Global News. “No other place in the country right now, I don’t think, has enabled in their bylaws the concept of a cannabis lounge, so we’re breaking new ground here.”

Council will debate Nickel’s motion in their upcoming meeting on Tuesday.

“If it’s a legitimate product, then we have to see it consumed responsibly,” he said.

“This is an opportunity to talk about how we can grow some business in town.”

When Matt Zabloski turned the corner and looked down at the foyer of Calgary City Hall back in March, 2018, he saw a dozen reporters waiting for him.

“There were about 10 cameras with their lenses trained on an empty space — and I knew I would soon be standing in that space answering questions about bylaws. The information just left my brain,” Zabloski says. That is when he realized his life had changed.

When Zabloski became a civil servant eight years earlier, he expected to be shuffling papers, not leading a newscast. But Calgary’s success in adapting to the legalization of recreational cannabis — and his central role in that development — has made Zabloski a high-profile figure in the city and in the cannabis space.

Cannabis producers are proving you can judge a book by its cover.

With heavy restrictions on what they are allowed to put on legal packaging, many Canadian growers are making a statement with the packaging itself.

“We’ve been hearing nothing but negative energy (about) the packaging strategies that have a lot of paper and a lot of waste,” Troy Dezwart, executive director and co-founder of Alberta-based Freedom Cannabis told the Winnipeg Free Press.

Bringing legalized marijuana to market has proven costly for Alberta, with no sign it will turn a profit anytime soon.

The UCP budget, tabled Thursday, projects cannabis income will remain negative over the next four years, despite previous estimates it would make the province money come 2020.

Following a revenue loss of $34 million in 2018-19, further shortfalls are expected in each of the next four fiscal years: $31 million in 2019-20; $34 million in 2020-21; $24 million in 2021-22 and $25 million in 2022-23.

The net income projections include retailer fees and sales revenue, minus administration and inventory costs, according to budget documents.

Be careful what you wish for, especially when placing an order for weed online. Returning it can be a challenge, with policies varying from province to province.

Here’s what the shipping and return policies look like across the country.

British Columbia 

Bought a product that’s defective, shipped in error or recalled? The BC Cannabis Stores will take them back, but returns must be initiated within 15 days of the purchase.

With the Liberal party staying in Parliament Hill as a minority government, talks of western provinces separating from Canada are growing.

The movement, known as “Wexit” or “western exit,” proposes Alberta and Saskatchewan leave the country.

Lisa Campbell, CEO of Lifford Cannabis Solutions, a licensed sales agency in Alberta, thinks the provinces splitting could allow them to capitalize on cannabis by avoiding the $1 per gram or 10 per cent federal excise tax.

“That would be seriously beneficial. It could be the new oil for Alberta and Saskatchewan,” she said in a phone interview.

The city says it has incurred more than $6.9 million in cannabis-related costs since legalization last year — an amount that does not include spending on preparations undertaken in the six months prior to legal weed.

The cost of responding to legalization has so far exceeded the $3.84 million that was provided to Calgary through the province’s Municipal Cannabis Transition Program, according to city data.

Policing and enforcement costs make up the lion’s share of the city’s spending, but firefighters, bylaw and transit officers have also been tapped to respond to cannabis-related issues.

City lawyers and staff working in business licensing and building regulations have also been closely involved in the file.