All eligible cannabis vendors can now operate an online store to serve NWT customers, the Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission (NTLCC) announced on Oct. 18.
Those eligible must be deemed a “qualified designated retail cannabis vendor.”
Establishment of online stores falls under the Cannabis Products Act and Regulations, and existing contracts with the designated vendors were amended, according to the commission. Vendors authorized to sell and ship cannabis products to NWT residents must follow the rules set out in the act.
“They (NTLCC) put out an expression of interest a while back and we responded. I guess they kind of liked what they saw,” said Luke Wood, president of ReLeaf NT. “What they’re doing is they determined that if you’re a designated cannabis vendor, like a retail store in the NWT that they recognize, you can go online.”
NTLCC put out the call on July 11.
“They (amended the) contract so that now you can go online … it just happens to be that nobody else, I think, has jumped on that yet,” Wood said.
Based in Yellowknife, ReLeaf NT launched its website on Oct. 15 and has been busy delivering to Northerners since.
“We enlisted SSi Canada,” said Wood. “Jeff (Philipp) and his team at SSi Canada, amazing. They got this thing up and going in under three weeks,” he said of his company’s online presence.
Orders are received, filled and shipped by employees in Yellowknife. However, orders cannot be delivered within the city.
“(Yellowknife delivery) is possibly in the works, but people can call and do pickup,” said Wood. “So you can go online, secure your order, take it out of inventory and have it waiting for you. You can pay online if you want, or you can just pay when you get to the store.
“We’re also setting up kiosks in the stores, like a McDonald’s or whatever,” he said. “Go on your iPad — you don’t have to wait in line — and place your order and grab it.”
The kiosks are near completion for ReLeaf NT.
Although Wood said it was too soon to comment on the success of his company’s new online sales website, he’s happy it’s being used.
The former online cannabis store run by the NTLCC ceased operation as of Oct. 17. A portal has now been installed that takes the user to ReLeaf NT’s home page (website).