Cannabis Stores Could Help Economic Recovery From Pandemic, Says Kingston Expert – Kingston | The Canadian News

The COVID pandemic has highlighted people’s spending habits, and some companies have done better than others.

The cannabis industry was one of the few fields that did not have problems during the pandemic, as it was allowed to remain open as an essential service.

“For us, even in the pandemic, we were able to achieve number one in sales in a city like Kingston, which doesn’t have as large a population as other cities,” says Jannawae McLean of Calyx & Trichomes. “I think we’ve done very well considering and I think we’re ready for anything.”

With 17 cannabis stores in the city of Kingston, Ontario, some might worry that the market is starting to oversaturate, but McLean says that’s not the case.

“It’s not much,” she says. “If you consider how many places sell alcohol, how many private establishments sell alcohol, grocery stores, it’s really not much. Actually, it’s not even at peak saturation yet. “

2:10Is the cannabis industry oversaturated?

McLean says the key to the cannabis market is accessibility, and Kingston is still working to make cannabis more accessible.

She says Kingston doesn’t have the same problems that other larger cities face.

“There are stores with clusters in larger cities, especially Toronto, there are clusters in specific areas,” says McLean. “But the good thing about an open market and a free market is that they will resolve themselves.”

The cannabis industry has contributed significantly to the local economy, and McLean says cannabis stores could also help in the recovery from the pandemic nationwide.

“Not only in monetary and economic terms, we have also contributed to the job market,” he says. “There are more than 27,000 employees in the retail stores alone. That doesn’t even include the production facilities and everything the cannabis industry has to offer as well. So in terms of recovering from the pandemic, and also getting the retail concept back in general, cannabis stores have been there. “

Last August, the Ontario government’s online cannabis store announced that there are more than 1,000 marijuana stores across the province, exceeding the 660 LCBOs in Ontario.

3:58Cannabis store clusters are cause for concern in Toronto