New Brunswick’s provincial-run alcohol retailer and one of Canada’s top marijuana producers are teaming up to develop a training program for recreational cannabis retail employees.
NB Liquor and Smiths Falls-based licensed producer Canopy Growth Corp. will launch the new program, which will first be offered to public-sector cannabis employees within New Brunswick.
NB Liquor – which will oversee cannabis sales within New Brunswick through a new subsidiary, Cannabis NB – called the program “the first of its kind in Canada,” according to a news release.
The curriculum will include three weeks of in-class training, plus an online component. The program will cover topics such as cannabis product knowledge, store operations, store procedures and responsible use.
In New Brunswick, recreational marijuana will be sold through a network of stand-alone stores branded as Cannabis NB.
A Canopy spokesperson said the initiative is more of way to differentiate itself as a premier supply partner rather than generating material revenue.
Provinces planning to establish government-owned cannabis outlets ahead of legalization this summer include Ontario (40 stores), Quebec (15), New Brunswick (20), Nova Scotia (unknown) and Prince Edward Island (4).
Provinces handing cannabis sales to the private sector are Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta.
In British Columbia, the public and private sectors will handle recreational cannabis sales.
Canopy’s shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange as WEED.