Last year, 68 retailers either cancelled their licence or chose not to renew it — far more than the 19 recorded in 2021, according to Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis .Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Calgary SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails or any newsletter.
Barry said financial institutions have also recently begun levying massive banking fees on cannabis retailers to the tune of more than $1,000 a month. Barry and some of her competitors say there’s over-saturation in the market, which makes it difficult to survive. “At the same time, there’s a lot of people who’ve gotten into the business who got into the wrong locations — they had a passion but not a business acumen, and you need both.”Article contentRecommended from EditorialAnother challenge facing cannabis shops: strict limits promoting the products they sell or even their shops, obstacles not shared by the liquor sector, they say.
On Wednesday, a group of licensed cannabis producers told reporters in Ottawa their industry isn’t sustainable in the face of crippling federal excise taxes and regulatory hurdles — the latter they say is borne from a stigma against their product.