Cannabis stores coming to Canada’s remote Nunavut territory

The government of Nunavut will soon accept applications for cannabis stores, bringing bricks-and-mortar recreational marijuana storefronts to the only Canadian jurisdiction that still doesn’t have any.

License applications will be accepted starting June 1 through the territory’s department of finance.

“Nunavut’s cannabis legislation and regulations have a broad range of requirements that licensed cannabis retailers must follow,” said a government of Nunavut announcement.

Those requirements include security systems, inventory management systems, secure storage, floor plans and criminal record checks.

Application fees are 2,000 Canadian dollars ($1,440).

Cannabis stores in Nunavut may be free-standing or integrated within another commercial establishment via a window or a kiosk.

“Remote sales licenses” will also allow retailers to sell cannabis online or over the phone, and ship to communities across the territory.

Nunavut communities will have a 60-day consultation period for an initial cannabis store, and a 30-day period for subsequent stores, according to a government application guide.

Letters of support from community leaders “will assist the Office of the Superintendent (of Licensing) in reviewing your application,” according to the guide.

Until now, legal recreational cannabis sales in Nunavut have been limited to online orders from just two suppliers, Canopy Growth and AgMedica Bioscience.

Nunavut is Canada’s least-populous jurisdiction, with an population of about 39,000.

Monthly cannabis retail sales figures from Statistics Canada typically do not estimate cannabis sales in the territory.