On November 14 2019, New Brunswick Finance Minister Ernie Steeves issued a request for proposals for a single, private entity to "undertake the operation, distribution and sales of recreational cannabis in New Brunswick, effectively planning to replace Cannabis NB with a single private retailer.

In the following weeks, RCMP and local police forces in New Brunswick issued warning letters to medical dispensaries with orders to cease operations.

This plan was put forward without consulting the public, or the thousands of customers who benefit from the medical knowledge, personalized service, and accessibility only offered by medical dispensaries in a free-market economy.

We believe New Brunswick can do better. The licensing of medical dispensaries and private retailers is a well-established model. Both Ontario and British Columbia are licensing free-market private retailers, and in the United states, licensed dispensaries have yielded significant tax revenues.

By carefully managing the licensing of medical dispensaries, private enterprise can co-exist with existing Cannabis NB stores, and increase tax revenues for the province, without the need for costly lease terminations or the risks adopting a risky, untested model of establishing a private monopoly.

Medical Dispensaries play a vital role for customers seeking advice for the treatment of arthritis, epilepsy, chemotherapy side effects, anxiety, depression, nausea, pain, parkinson’s, PTSD, and many other conditions. 

We are calling on the government of New Brunswick to consult with the public, research the benefits of licensing medical dispensaries and private retailers, and take some time to consider these benefits before moving forward with an aggressive plan to replace one monopoly with another. Let the free market decide.