The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has announced that they will allow cannabis retailers in the province to enter into agreements with cannabis producers for store brand or white label cannabis products.

This announcement is a change of course and amendment to regulatory changes announced in February that will be coming into effect on June 30, 2022.

When first announced to the industry in February, the AGCO’s rule changes were seeking to prohibit cannabis retailers from asking for or accepting benefits or payments to promote any specific products. 

The new rules also specifically disallowed producers and retailers from creating a set amount of product a retailer must stock, or defined shelf space or product or brand marketing. 

Often referred to as “white labelling”, this approach had been encouraged by the OCS and caught the industry by surprise when the AGCO announced it would no longer be allowed. Ontario’s product “flow through” program was even reportedly built with the idea of these kinds of white label products.

Today’s newest update from the AGCO clarifies that it will now still allow such white label partnerships. The agency will be providing more details on this change in the coming days.