Licensed cannabis producers in British Columbia, Canada are now authorized to give samples of their products to retail stores for a small fee. However, the stores can’t share these samples with other stores or offer them to customers.
On Monday, the provincial government announced the cannabis sampling changes in its Bulletin 23-08. Cannabis marketing licensees can only provide samples if they also hold a federal cannabis licence and consumption in a cannabis store is prohibited, even when closed.
The bulletin said that the changes come after listening to industry feedback and helping licence holders promote cannabis with samples while still meeting requirements.
The government is looking into changing regulations around store sample sharing and advertisement.
Read more: Inaccurate THC levels in Canadian cannabis spark concerns across industry
Read more: Ontario’s cannabis distributor lacks transparency: auditor general report
🆕: Federally licensed cannabis producers (federal licence holders) can now promote their #cannabis by providing cannabis store licensees product samples for a nominal fee:
https://t.co/rtM4dGrjOD— Deepak Anand (@_deepakanand) September 25, 2023
Cannabis producers and retailers must keep track of the samples received and bought. They need to track specifics such as the date, name and licence information, purchase amount, quantity and the unique excise tax identifier.
Under the current regulations, producers or retailers cannot provide cannabis to customers or stores. However, a free accessory with purchase can be given as a bonus.
The news comes just in time for the Grow Up Conference & Expo being held in Victoria on Oct.1-3 where licensed producers, micro-producers and craft growers may be able to show samples in the “brand and buyer’s zone”.
Other provinces such as Alberta already loosened sample-sharing regulations this year. The province announced the changes last March to provide up to 3.5 grams –or equivalent in other formats– as a sample.
In Ontario, producers are able to provide samples to stores but only for education and training.
Follow Natalia Buendia Calvillo on Twitter
natalia@mugglehead.com
