People looking to grow their own cannabis in Ontario this year now have the option of buying cannabis clones directly from two of the province’s cannabis farmgate locations.
Kingston Cannabis Inc. in Kingston and Level Up Infusions in North York, two of a handful of cannabis farmgate licenses in the province, are partnering with a local micro cultivator to sell cannabis clones through their stores.
Jonathan Pilon, the president of Kingston Cannabis, says he believes the two stores are the first in Ontario to do so.
“It’s been something we’ve been trying to do for years, we just had to have everything aligned,” says Pilon, who says he sees it as a way to help bring attention to the two farmgate stores in such a highly saturated retail market.
“[Farmgate’s] a really nice opportunity to show the market what we can do,” he adds. “We can form our own individual menus and really offer much more fresh product right out our door. And you can’t get more fresh than live plants.”
He expects the first sales in early June with a few dozen of the cultivar Tire Fire. He is also exploring more options down the road, especially for pre-orders, depending on consumer interest.
Daniel Torres, the owner of Torrcann, a micro cultivator located just down the road from Kingston Cannabis, says Tire Fire is a cross of High Octane and Do-Si-Dos, from Archive Seeds. It’s one of the many different genetics he has worked with for many years, bringing them in when TorrCann was first licensed in 2021.
“We decided to launch Tire Fire first because we figured it’s suitable for outdoors in Ontario. We thought it was a strong genetic that people would enjoy for their four outdoor plants,” Torres tells StratCann. He also notes that they have extensively grown and tested Tire Fire, learning how the plant grows, testing the flower, and testing the plants for diseases like hop latent viroid.
Cannabis Farmgate in Canada
Ontario, the first province to begin issuing retail “farmgate” licenses to cannabis producers, currently lists five such locations: Thrive Cannabis in Simcoe, Kingston Cannabis in Kingston, Level Up in Toronto, Royal Cannabis Supply Company in Toronto, and Station House Cannabis Co. in St. Thomas.
Only about a dozen of these provincially-licensed cannabis farmgate stores operate in Canada, allowing consumers to engage more directly with the cannabis grower or processor. Even fewer stores offer consumers the opportunity to purchase clones directly.
Moncton, New Brunswick, is home to Canada’s only cannabis farmgate nursery, Klonz, with a focus on starting material for growers. Hidden Harvest, the producer behind the Klonz store and brand, has also worked with retailers in New Brunswick and PEI to offer clones to consumers at retail stores and even special events.
Other farmgate stores in the province, like Eco Canadian Organic, have also offered clones for sale at their store in Rexton.
British Columbia’s direct delivery program has also allowed cultivators and nurseries to sell clones directly to retailers, bypassing the provincial distribution warehouse.
