Alberta Cannabis Regulators Ease Rules Around Product Samples for Retailers

Alberta cannabis regulators have updated provincial rules to allow cannabis representatives to provide product samples to licensed retailers on an ongoing basis.

The Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) announced the change in a bulletin issued today, saying amendments have been made to Section 4.3 of the Cannabis Representative Handbook and Section 6.3 of the Retail Cannabis Store Handbook.

Effective immediately, registered cannabis representatives may provide cannabis product samples to retail cannabis store licensees “on an ongoing basis,” so long as the amounts are appropriate for legitimate business and educational purposes. AGLC says the samples are for licensee use only and must comply with federal guidelines.

The change gives licensed retailers greater access to product samples that can be used for staff education, product knowledge and other business-related purposes, while keeping the samples restricted to licensees rather than the general public.

AGLC also reduced the recordkeeping requirement for cannabis sampling from six years to two years.

The commission is directing all registered cannabis representatives and retail cannabis store licensees to review the amended policies and notify affected staff of the changes. Questions can be directed to AGLC’s Compliance Branch.