One year later: The highs and lows of Regina area’s first legal pot shop

Running a legal pot shop isn’t the lottery win Allen Kilback thought it would be … at least not yet.

In the year since the better-than-expected opening on legalization day which saw nearly 900 customers flow through the doors in 10 hours, the Vatic Cannabis Co. (formerly Eden) has run into its fair share of challenges.

“We’re just trying to pay our bills,” Kilback, owner of Vatic Cannabis, said Thursday. “Our staff is about half of what we used to be. We’ve been scaling back. Our sales have dropped.”

Vatic Cannabis is located one mile west of Pilot Butte just off Highway 46. It was one of seven retail marijuana stores in Saskatchewan to open on legalization day. On its one-year anniversary, sales aren’t as high as desired, dropping 50 to 60 per cent over the first year in operation.

There are now 39 retail stores across the province. Kilback said as more stores continued to open up throughout the year while the black market remained alive, it hurt his business.

He used to see customers come from all over the province. Now, it’s mostly regulars from the local area. Kilback said while he has enjoyed forming relationships with his loyal customers, he isn’t capturing the market share he needs.

“We need to grow our sales. If not, it’s not a sustainable business,” said Kilback.

The province is expected to make a decision on whether to hand out more retail pot licences by the end of the year. Gene Makowsky, the minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, would not reveal any details of discussions when asked by reporters on Thursday.

Kilback does not want to see any more licences awarded.

“I don’t think there should be any growth in this sector because all you’re going to see is more stores that’ll be closing,” he said.

As the market has matured, Kilback has seen prices come down close to or lower than street prices. He’s working to provide a better variety of products to his customers, sometimes searching for and ordering a specific product when asked.

Without a wholesale producer in operation in Saskatchewan, Vatic Cannabis orders its products from across the country but wants to sell locally produced marijuana when it becomes available. It has also joined the newly formed Weed Pool co-operative with other indie pot shops to get lower prices.

The first year in operation also led to confusion with its name and location and a legal issue. Just days after the store opened under the name Eden, weed smokers got lost searching for the store in the village of Edenwold located 25 minutes northeast of the store. At least one local erected a makeshift sign that read “no pot store here.”

Kilback said his store found out the name Eden was trademarked by a dispensary in Vancouver of the same name and it became a legal issue.

“Instead of going down that road, we just decided to change our name,” said Kilback.

Cannabis edibles become legal

On Thursday, edibles became legal in Canada, but they will take at least 60 days to appear on store shelves.

After dealing with a drop in sales, Kilback said edibles are what’s needed to prop up the industry, calling their legalization “perfect timing.”

He believes there is a bigger market for cannabis edibles than there is for the flower. Kilback feels the black market is still taking away too much of his business but the wide selection of various edible products will help him compete.

Kilback also has more time to plan for a better rollout of edibles. When his store opened in 2018, he wasn’t sure if the product would arrive on time so he bought whatever he could. The marijuana was delivered just two days before opening.

“Now we can be selective on the edibles and I think that it’s going to give us a real competitive advantage against the (black) market,” said Kilback. “They’re products that you can’t buy on the street so we’re not competing at a disadvantage at that level.”

Legalized edibles will include gummies, candies, chocolates, cannabis-infused beverages and more.

While Quebec is deciding not to allow the sale of certain edibles, Makowsky said Saskatchewan is not considering a ban on any of the products approved at the federal level. He said the province wants a reasonable amount of legal products to compete with the black market.

“In terms of the rules around (edibles), it will be very similar to dried (cannabis) in terms of the amount of THC (and) in terms of carrying it with you,” said Makowsky.

Edibles will be sold in plain, childproof packaging. The province is reminding users to store edibles in a safe place away from kids and pets.