Health Canada Gives Shoppers Drug Mart The Okay To Sell Medical Cannabis

image

Health Canada has given Shoppers Drug Mart the go-ahead to sell medical cannabis online to licensed patients.

The Medical Cannabis by Shoppers Drug Mart website was live as of December 8, 2018 at 4:20 pm, although they are not yet selling merchandise, and no expected date has been released.

Shoppers Drug Mart was purchased by Loblaws in late 2014 for $12.4 billion in a cash-stock deal that shook up the health and beauty market, and saw Loblaws acquire 2300 locations across Canada, including 1800 pharmacies.   

In October 2016, Shoppers Drug Mart took the leap, submitting applications to become a licensed medical cannabis producer in Canada.  As of September, the check mark was granted, and it appears the Loblaws owned brand is focused on quick growth in the Canadian cannabis industry. 

The two year approval process gives us insight as to why medical and recreational cannabis inventory levels are backlogged across Canada.

One can only assume the long game for Loblaws contains over the counter cannabis for medical patients, although currently, laws prohibit over the counter medical cannabis purchases.   

According to Health Canada, Shoppers has been granted licences to sell fresh and dried cannabis, seeds, oils and live plants.

The Medical Cannabis by Shoppers Drug Mart’s website reads:

As a leader in health and wellness for Canadians, Shoppers Drug Mart will soon be your trusted source for medical cannabis from a variety of producers.   Through a secure website, patients with a valid medical document will soon be able to purchase a wide selection of medical cannabis products that meet strict quality and safety standards, and rest assured that their order will be delivered discreetly, right to their doorstep.
https://cannabis.shoppersdrugmart.ca/

It appears that Shoppers is jumping into full cannabis mode, adding a medical cannabis button right to their website header, and updating job listing to incorporate newly granted cannabis positions in Ontario. 

Check out their listings below: