The pot quebecers in the SAQ

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Annabelle Blais

Wednesday, 14 February, 2018 07:55

UPDATE
Wednesday, 14 February, 2018 07:59

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The Société des Alcools du Québec has concluded agreements with six producers to give him the cannabis that will be sold to Quebec.

Three of these producers have facilities in Quebec and one in its head office in the province, is Hydropothecaire, in Gatineau.

This morning, the Newspaper reported that an ontario company MedReleaf, had signed a letter of intent with the SAQ to provide a minimum of 8000 kilograms of cannabis per year, and in three years, according to the report of management of the company consulted by our Office of investigation.

We learn now that the producer Hydropoticaire will provide for its share of 20 000 kilograms of cannabis, for the first year. It is the biggest agreement, according to co-founder of the company, Sebastien Saint-Louis.

The other producers will be Aphria and Canopy Growth to 12 000 kg each for the first year. Aurora and Tilray will provide 5000 kg each.

Canopy Growth and Aurora have several facilities, some of which, in Quebec. Tilray is located in British Columbia so that Aphria is in Ontario.

The SAQ considers, in a preliminary way, needs cannabis to 50 tonnes 50 000 kilograms, to its network of stores, said Linda Bouchard, spokeswoman for the SAQ.

The total of agreements is rather of 57 000kg. Up to 64% of the supply of cannabis to the SAQ may therefore come from Quebec.

The cannabis of these producers will be sold in 15 shops of the network is the quebec Society of cannabis (SQDC), a subsidiary of the SAQ. The alcohol and the pot will therefore not be sold in the same shops.

The SQDC has the monopoly on pot sales in Quebec. It will also be allowed to sell online. Within three years, there could be up to 150 locations.

Not the official supplier

The first producer of cannabis in Quebec, Hydropothicaire wanted to become the producer official of cannabis for the SAQ.

“Quebec is our priority. The quebec market is the one that we will feed in first. It is very logical”, he told the Newspaper the spokesperson for the company, Stone Kalleen, this fall

If Hydropthecaire will not be the sole provider, it will nevertheless be a big one, stresses the CEO Sebastien Saint-Louis.

“This is the largest sale of cannabis from a producer to a SAQ. It is a historical fact, he pointed out. This is the largest sale of cannabis in the world.”

He is convinced that Quebecers will want to first encourage the local economy through the purchase of the pot here.

He believes, however, that the SAQ has mostly been convinced by the variety of their products like the vaporizer in the THC or the powder of dried cannabis into a powder to ingest. “The SAQ has chosen us for the quality of our products and the fact that they can be eaten otherwise than by smoking,” says the ceo.

the SAQ refuses to grant interviews on the subject