A nautical

You wouldn't see a mermaid statue hanging from the wall when you walk into one of Cannabis NB's regular stores.

At McCannabis in Salisbury, though, one of the new — and legal — independent cannabis stores opening in rural areas across New Brunswick, a mermaid is entirely possible. So is a whale, an ancient radio and a ship's helm nailed to the wall. In fact, most of the small store's decorations are antiques, suggesting an air of something old instead of something new.

Of course, to many people, purchasing cannabis isn't something new at all. After the legalization of weed and the opening of Cannabis NB's first stores in 2018, however, a common enough transaction for some was treated like a novelty. New Brunswick's stores were mostly colourless and, before edibles arrived on the scene, looked barren and clinical, almost like visiting a doctor's office instead of a prelude to a good time.

"If you've been in our stores recently, you've probably noticed things don't look that way anymore," said Cannabis NB president and CEO Lori Stickles.

The year is now 2023, and Cannabis NB is ready for a new era.

Besides loosening its grip on who can sell marijuana — five of nine private stores have opened this summer, a sixth is about to open and the Crown corporation is planning another round of requests for proposals to open even more stores next year — store shelves now burst with colour. While there are no mermaids, displays are filled with edibles, vape cartridges and glittering bongs, and signs boast same-day delivery.

Showing less restraint is one way the corporation hopes to compete with the illicit market, which Stickles estimates lays claim to 50 per cent of New Brunswick's cannabis customers. In its strategic plan for 2024-2026, the phrases "explore non-traditional revenue opportunities" and "on-site consumption opportunities" make an appearance.

"On-site consumption, it can mean many things, so it can look like a cannabis café, or it can be as simple as being able to sample products in stores, similar to what you can do on the alcohol side," Stickles said, adding it won't happen overnight.

Non-traditional might not always work — Cannabis NB wanted to open a mobile pot shop in St. Andrews, an idea its scandalized town council quickly rejected — but the corporation has had better luck with places like the Area 506 space in Saint John, and Stickles said the corporation is also interested in opening stores outside of New Brunswick.

Stickles acknowledged Cannabis NB had a rocky start. There were supply chain issues early on, and at one point, the New Brunswick government considered selling the entire corporation to the private market.

Cannabis NB was able to walk back from that, but today, Stickles said the market is still challenging, and some of the corporation's partners have gone into receivership without coming out again. Elsewhere in Canada, production facilities have gone bankrupt and workers are being laid off.

Then there's the illegal market.

"The playing field, of course, isn't level," Stickles said. "You've got a lot of illegal cannabis suppliers who don't have the same regulatory framework, they don't have the same level of federal taxes [or] excise reporting."

The federal government is currently reviewing the Cannabis Act, and like many others involved in the industry, Stickles is hoping some of its strict regulations will soften.

Cannabis NB has 26 stores across New Brunswick — mostly in urban areas — plus its farm-gate and pop-up stores. This summer, private stores opened in more rural areas like Salisbury, Bouctouche, Grand-Bay Westfield, Blackville, and Caraquet. A sixth store will soon open in Chipman.

It's one way Cannabis NB hopes to win over consumers who live too far from legal stores, choosing to use the illicit market instead.

"I think there are some customers that are coming into the private stores that hadn't been coming into Cannabis NB, which is exactly what we were hoping," Stickles said.

Since the private stores just started opening this summer, it's too early to tell whether they'll make a dent in Cannabis NB's profits. Still, Cannabis NB earned $21.9 million from product sales during this year's first quarter — an 11 per cent increase over the same period last year. Its gross profit was $10.9 million, an 18.1 per cent increase over last year.

At McCannabis in Salisbury, chief operating officer Craig Prosser said the store can price products how it wants — as long as they fall within Cannabis NB's recommendations.

"Our prices are competitive with what they would get at Cannabis NB," he said.

Social Media Producer

Raechel Huizinga is a social media producer based in Moncton, N.B. You can reach her at [email protected].