Alberta cannabis retailers can now sell at special events

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Canada’s second-most valuable adult-use market, Alberta, now permits cannabis sales at age-restricted events such as music festivals or marijuana trade shows.

The new rules took effect Jan. 31, provincial regulator Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) announced.

Retailers seeking a temporary extension of their store to sell cannabis at events must apply for AGLC approval.

The regulatory changes also:

  • Allow licensed marijuana stores to keep cannabis products in “a locked showcase in the customer area after store operating hours,” doing away with a previous requirement to move products into secure storage at day’s end.
  • Permit stores to sell marijuana to each other, “regardless of ownership structure,” and “allow unlimited transfers of cannabis products between licensees owned by the same legal entity.”
  • Tweak previous regulations that set out rules for providing cannabis samples to retail licensees.
  • Update rules surrounding the destruction of cannabis products.

“Alberta clearly understands the value of updating cannabis regulations and bringing them closer in line with the way alcohol is managed and with consumer expectations,” Edmonton, Alberta-based consultancy Diplomat Consulting wrote in a blog post outlining the changes.

The new regulations were announced in December as part of an effort to cut through red tape in the cannabis retail sector.

Alberta adult-use cannabis sales totaled 73.7 million Canadian dollars ($54.9 million) in November.