Delta 9’s getting its joint ready for big day

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This article was published 15/10/2018 (2018 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE smell of fresh paint lingered in the air Monday afternoon inside the strip mall at 827 Dakota St. in south Winnipeg, where Delta 9 Cannabis will open its first retail marijuana outlet Wednesday at 10 a.m.

“Everyone’s going to have their IDs checked coming in, and there might be a second check at the cash register as well,” store manager Chad LaPointe said above the din of contractors applying last-minute touches to the not-quite-finished, gleaming white store interior.

Inspectors from the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA) had just left, after giving the store a final inspection to ensure security standards were up to snuff. (It passed.)

Above half-built counters on the far side of the space, an electronic display flipped through basic information about the cannabis that will soon be on sale, with prices ranging from $9 to $12 per gram.

Before eager cannabis shoppers get up to those counters, however, they’ll have plenty of diversions.

“Anyone who has extra questions, or wants more information on cannabis and product knowledge, we can sit down here,” LaPointe said.

How about a sparkling new bong? Or a pipe, or a vaporizer? A cannabis cookbook? A machine that turns dried marijuana bud and regular butter into cannabis-infused butter? They’ll all be for sale, beckoning to customers as they wait in line to buy weed.

“We’re anticipating lineups out the door (Wednesday),” LaPointe said.

About 50 customers will be allowed in the store at once, assisted by 16 to 20 staff. Shoppers won’t be able to physically touch the cannabis they’re buying, but they can examine it — even sniff it — through special jars equipped with a built-in magnifying glass.

Delta 9 may be short of time to get ready for Wednesday, but the company said it’s not short of marijuana.

“I’ve heard the rumours about shortages, and we were proactive,” vice-president of operations Al Roney said. “We brought the product into our off-site storage facility already… It’s sitting there, waiting for this store and future stores.”

Earlier Monday, LGCA chief administrative officer Elizabeth Stephenson told reporters Manitoba’s early supply of legally produced cannabis might not meet initial demand.

On Oct. 12, the chief executive officer of legal cannabis producer Aphria told stock analysts on an earnings call he expects “supply chain issues abounding everywhere with every (licensed producer).” A recent report from the C.D. Howe Institute also concluded the supply of legal cannabis won’t match demand, at least not at first.

However, Delta 9 doesn’t just have its own supply of cannabis to draw on, Roney said — its stores will also hawk marijuana grown by other companies, such as Ontario-based Canopy Growth Corp. and Broken Coast Cannabis in British Columbia.

“I think if there is a potential shortage, it’ll be resolved quickly,” Roney said.

According to a spokesperson for Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp., “We are expecting that less product than anticipated will be available… We anticipate these conditions could last up to at least six months.”

— with files from The Canadian Press

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sol_israel