Canada’s largest pharmacy wants in on the cannabis business — and it is searching for a medical marijuana brand manager to help with marketing and strategy.
Shoppers Drug Mart views the cannabis market as a potential revenue generator despite the fact that current Canadian laws make it illegal to sell marijuana through pharmacies. But the drug store giant is banking on a change in federal regulations.
“As the federal and provincial governments finalize their respective cannabis frameworks, we remain optimistic that they will allow pharmacists to apply their professional care to medical cannabis patients,” company spokeswoman Catherine Thomas told The Canadian Press.
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The marijuana brand manager position was posted on the company’s website last week. The successful candidate will be responsible for:
The development and integration of the medical brand plan will involve the consideration of the current cannabis market; legislation, regulations and access challenges. Using strong medical marketing skills and business acumen, you will coordinate with cross functional teams, external vendors and consultants to help promote and execute the formulary, clinical guidelines, marketing plan, regulatory requirements, market access strategy, and physician outreach strategy.
There are more than 1,300 Shopper Drug Mart locations throughout Canada. The pharmacy giant’s parent company, Loblaw Companies Ltd., applied for a license to dispense medical marijuana in 2016, according to The Canadian Press. Currently, the only legal retail method for medical marijuana is through mail order.
According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, other companies are also considering getting into the marijuana pharmacy business. Maricann Group Inc. announced last week that it entered into a letter of intent with Lovell Drugs Limited, which has a dozen pharmacies across Ontario, to be its primary and exclusive provider of medicinal cannabis for its patients.
“We believe that pharmacies are the best distribution points for medicinal cannabis, as is the case for all other prescriptions,” said Ben Ward, CEO of Maricann, in a statement.
Beginning on July 1, 2o18, Canada is scheduled to legalize recreational marijuana nationwide.
