Manitoba announces new cannabis product freshness criteria

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL) is shaking things up in the cannabis sector with a breath of fresh air, or should we say, fresh cannabis! On June 26, MBLL rolled out a whimsical notice to producers that’s all about keeping things crisp and sprightly. They’re introducing “product freshness criteria” effective July 15, targeting cannabis flower, edibles, certain extracts, and topicals.

Here’s the fresh scoop: starting from that date, all cannabis flower products—including those zesty infused ones—must make their grand entrance at Manitoba retailers no later than nine months from their packaging date. It’s like a debutante ball, but for buds!

But wait, there’s more! All edible cannabis goodies without a “best before” date need to trot into stores within the same nine-month window. And for those edibles that do sport a “best before” tag? They’ve got to show up at the party at least 60 days before they’re passé.

When it comes to cannabis topicals, they’re also invited to the nine-month freshness fest. However, other cannabis extracts are the rebels of the bunch—they get to waltz in whenever they like, with no packaging date curfews.

Retailers in Manitoba aren’t just sitting back and taking what they’re given, either. They now have the power to turn away deliveries or send back any products that don’t meet these snazzy new freshness standards. If they do, a credit will jingle back to them, courtesy of the supplier. And yes, suppliers can also extend this credit for any customer returns—how courteous!

This initiative isn’t just happening in a vacuum. Over in Alberta, the AGLC isn’t playing around either; they announced in May that they’d be de-listing over 500 slow-moving SKUs. Meanwhile, British Columbia has also been tweaking its policies to keep up as the industry nears its six-year mark.

Unlike most of its provincial cousins, Manitoba doesn’t run its own cannabis distribution center. Instead, it lets producers ship directly to the retailers, adding a bit of direct farm-to-shelf charm. They’ve also dipped their toes into licensing Cannabis Distributor Licenses to third-party providers, issuing four such licenses as of June 20.

With 206 private retail cannabis stores lighting up the scene, 124 of which are in Winnipeg, Manitoba is clearly budding with activity. So here’s to fresher flowers and edibles making their way to you in Manitoba—because who doesn’t love fresh picks? For the freshest MOM in Canada, check out Mastertokes flowers!

Manitoba announces new cannabis product freshness criteria