CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - Zach Currie walked out of a packed cannabis store and looked to his right to see a small army of pot purchasers lined up in the rain.
After months of working behind the scenes, Currie was witnessing the end of prohibition.
“It was great, man,” Currie said of the scene on Day 1 of legalization last Wednesday.
“To see it all come to fruition and really experience this with our customers, it was a very special experience for me.”
It’s been nearly a week since cannabis stores opened across P.E.I., and it has been a rewarding venture so far, Currie said.
“Our staff has done a tremendous job with this whole new socio-cultural shift in embracing the crowds and a lot of awesome customers. From a systems perspective, it went very well (on Wednesday), and it’s just a testament to a great team effort and great execution.”
Currie has been a cannabis advocate for years, so he eagerly took the job of director of operations for Cannabis P.E.I. when it came up.
P.E.I. did better than some provinces in terms of cannabis supply and variety, Currie said, but he’d like to expand the range of strains available.
“One of the things I’m really looking forward to is building that assortment, finding some consistency in the supply chain and really building that portfolio that will hopefully … stay responsive to all customer preferences.”
Patrons have made a wide array of choices so far, and every product is selling, Currie said.
“The customer’s going to decide what we purchase and how much of it we purchase,” he said. “We feel as though the coming weeks and months will dictate the total amount of product we’ll purchase from each individual (licensed provider).”
P.E.I. Cannabis is in discussions to add more licensed providers, Currie said.
The province has 12 licensed providers now – eight from Ontario and one each from P.E.I., New Brunswick, Alberta and B.C.
“It’s a very exciting process for us to gauge initial demand … and tie our purchasing and procurement patterns to those customer patterns.”
After the hoopla on Day 1, it was back to the grind for Currie on Thursday – getting hourly phone updates from suppliers, looking at more strains and holding debriefings with stakeholders.
“Just always raising the bar, man. Just always trying to get better.”
All cannabis income, tax revenue and the provincial portion of the excise tax go into the provincial government’s general revenue.
The stores and website brought in about $152,000 on the first day, including $22,000 in taxes.
The money could be used to fund things like health care, education and infrastructure, said Currie, who was previously with the P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission.
“For me, as a proud Islander and someone who’s been with the government for a while now, it’s great for me to be able to contribute to the team effort of building this and ultimately give back to the province that I’ve lived in and grew up in my entire life.”
