NLC’s Cannabis NL blazing into new territory with approval of pre-filled THC vapourizer product sales.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Frequenters of cannabis businesses in the province may have noticed a new product on the shelves in recent weeks, namely pre-filled vapourizer cartridges.
Kenneth Oliver, the owner of The Herbal Centre in St. John’s, told SaltWire they were informed by the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) in early October that cannabis businesses could start selling the products, which have been available in some provinces since 2019.
The first wave of the products hit the shelves last week.
“It is something that people ask for,” Oliver said. “There are a lot of vapers in Newfoundland and Labrador. That’s why we have so many vape stores for nicotine.”
According to the most recent data from Statistics Canada, 28 per cent of cannabis users report using a vape pen as their primary method of consumption.
Oliver said only time will tell on how well the products sell in the province, but he’s glad that people have an option now other than the black market. Like all black market cannabis products, he said, people do not know what could be in them or if it’s safe to ingest.
The province prohibited the sale of all cannabis vapourizer products in 2019, just weeks before the federal government legalized the sale and use on a federal level. At that time, the government committed to reviewing the decision “in light of any relevant clinical evidence.”
SaltWire contacted the NLC, which regulates cannabis sales in the province, about the change and was told in a statement the decision to approve vapourizers and associated products results from a three-year review of the provincial cannabis industry, recently completed by the provincial government and the NLC. The change is so recent, the provincial government cannabis information site still says that vape sales aren’t allowed in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“This is now an established segment of the legal cannabis market throughout most of the country, with the category, nation-wide, representing approximately 20 per cent of legal sales,” the statement read. “Given the significant portion of the illicit market that vape represents, we believe this is a positive step in continuing to capture market share from illegal operators.”
The NLC noted in the statement that to limit appeal to youth, flavoured vapes will not be permitted, except for natural flavours and terpenes related to cannabis itself.
(From www.saltwire.com, November 23, 2022)
