Williams Lake First Nation rolling out B.C.'s first farm-to-table pot shop

You mayhave heard of farm-to-table dining,but what about farm-to-table doobies?

At the new Sugar Cane Cannabis facility owned and operated by the Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN)British Columbianbud buyers can soon purchase pot right where it is grown. The 650-square metre building opens Friday and will soon bethe province's first "farm-to-gate" cannabis retail spot, meaning every step, from seed to sale, will happenon site.

Located on WLFN land on South Mackenzie Avenuein Williams Lake, the facilityhas both a retail areaand185-square metres of growing space. Chief WillieSellarssays the first harvest should reap about 200kilograms of cannabis that will be sold at Sugar Caneand at dispensaries across B.C.

The first crops should be ready in a few weeks and the plan is to have product on the shelves in June.

"We're looking at netting anywhere from twoto sixmillion per year at this store,"said Sellars,speaking Friday on The Early Edition."It is pretty surreal and it's pretty cool."

The nation is the first in B.C. to enter into a government-to-government agreement with the province under section 119 of the Cannabis Control Licensing Act.

Construction began on the Sugar Cane Cannabis building began inspring 2020 and the facility received its Health Canada micro-cultivation licence in January of 2022.

The WLFN already owns Unity Cannabis retail stores in Williams Lake, Merritt and Penticton,and Sellars says three more are opening soon.According to a newsrelease, Sugar Cane Cannabis currently employs seven people and, when the harvest is ready, there will be more paycheque opportunities for band members.

In January 2020, revenue from just one retail cannabis location the nation ownedmade it possible to cover 100 per cent of the post-secondary education costs for graduating band members who applied for funding.

According to Statistics Canada, recreational weed prices have dropped more than eightper cent over the past year. Sellars said he knows the market is saturated but expects successnonetheless with the novel farm-gate model.

The nation is hosting a grand openingFriday night and former CanadianOlympic snowboarder turned current cannabis advocate and entrepreneur RossRebagliatiis in town for the celebrations.

He said pot has come down in price since it was legalized in 2019 because a lot of people got into the industry without much knowledge of it and are making corrections now after facingblack market competition.

Rebagliatisays the price drop is good for Canadians.

"It'sa positive thing to see the price come down for the average person to be able to afford cannabis. Coming in at $10, $15, $20 a gram, I mean, that's completely unaffordable," he said.

The plan is to produce up to 650kilograms of craft cannabis at the new site every year. Customers will be able to glimpse it growing from vantage points inside the retail space.

Sugar Cane Cannabis chief operating officerDaniel Pennylikened the experience to visiting a vineyard.

"We'll also be able to provide a cannabis tourism experience like no other in this province. Our visitors will have the opportunity to connect with the product they're buying in the same way those visiting a winery might," said Penny in a statement.

The project did get pushback at times from the City of Williams Lake. In June 2020, city councilraised concerns it did not havecritical information about how much the facility would cost the city in terms of infrastructure and services such as water and sewage and insisted there be public consultation.

Sellars'sresponse then was thatthe land where the facility sits belongs to the band. He said Fridaythat, for some "old school individuals,"there is still a stigma around cannabis and some locals worried the facility would be unsightly and odorous.

"This industry has evolved and so should some of those politicians, because, I mean, it's a state-of-the-art facility. It looks gorgeous," he said.