The Canadian branch of Walmart Inc. is considering the pending national cannabis market as a potential new revenue source, Bloomberg reports.
Specifically, Walmart — similar to Coca-Cola and several large beer manufacturers — is attracted to the industry by the proliferation of CBD products. Spokesperson Diane Medeiros said the company was looking at the CBD market but has not yet committed to carrying any CBD products and has no plans to dispense medical cannabis out of Walmart pharmacies.
“As we would for any new industry, Walmart Canada has done some preliminary fact-finding on this issue, but we do not have plans to carry CBD products at this time.” — Diane Medeiros, spokesperson for Walmart Inc., in an email to Bloomberg
The corporate interest in CBD has boomed since Canada announced its path to a fully legal market, but Walmart is not the first corporate retailer to eye the cannabis space.
Canada’s Shoppers Drug Mart, a retail pharmacy chain headquartered in Toronto that has gone all-in on the cannabis space, has already received a license from Health Canada to distribute medical cannabis products and has inked deals to stock their shelves with cannabis products from three different licensed producers.
Legalization takes effect across the country next Wednesday, October 17. Shoppers who want to visit a cannabis dispensary on Day 1, however, should expect long lines and limited product availability until the marketplace matures.
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