The Retail Cannabis Council of BC (RCCBC) and the BC Craft Farmers Co-op (BCCFC) are releasing the following statement in response to cannabis supply chain disruptions being created by the labour dispute between the provincial government and BCGEU:
“If the current job action is extended and cannabis sales are disrupted, the big winner will be BC’s illicit cannabis market. BC consumers are not going to stop buying cannabis during this dispute, rather they are simply going to lose access to safe, tested, legal products.
Today, we are calling on the BC government to release their essential service plan to make sure cannabis can continue to be legally distributed while labour negotiations continue. We believe the public health consequences of a lack of legal cannabis supply easily justify this designation.
At the same time, we are renewing our long-standing calls for the government to accelerate cannabis direct sales and farm gate policies in partnership with BC’s craft cannabis and independent retail sector.
The need for alternative legal cannabis distribution systems that bypass the provincial government’s expensive monopoly has never been more apparent.
We look forward to receiving the government’s essential service plan over the next 48 hours and presenting a more effective cannabis distribution system in BC that can provide consumers access to fresh, legal and local cannabis produced by small farmers passionate about their craft.”
-30-