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The smoke has cleared when it comes to who will be selling pot in the province.
On Friday, the provincial government revealed the names and businesses in Saskatchewan that will be in charge of selling marijuana once it becomes legal later this year.
There were 51 licenses available in the province — seven of those in Saskatoon and six in Regina.
A lottery system was used to select from among those who applied. More than two-thirds of the successful applicants are from Saskatchewan or have operations in the province.
“This represents the next step in the process of having a privately-operated cannabis retail system carefully regulated by SLGA,” Minister Responsible for SLGA Gene Makowsky said in a news release. “There was a lot of interest in the public Request for Proposal process, resulting in many new businesses that will invest in our province.”
The successful applicants have 45 days to begin the permitting process. Those holding permits to sell retail cannabis must be operating within 12 months of legalization.
But those selected have not yet been through criminal or good character background checks. That will be completed in the coming weeks and anyone who fails the SLGA test, there are runner-ups selected who would be contacted with the opportunity to run a store if an opportunity comes up.
Makowsky said the lottery test was fair and done by an independent third-party and a fairness report will be issued.
The province has previously announced 18 as the legal age to purchase cannabis.
The price that cannabis will sold in Saskatchewan is still to be determined and with the federal legislation still to receive Royal Assent it isn’t expected retail stores will be in place before August.