Shoppers Drug Mart Wants to Sell You Medical Pot

Shoppers Drug Mart has officially applied to enter the medical marijuana business.

The Canadian pharmacy and retail behemoth has applied for licensed producer status with Health Canada, a company spokesperson confirmed to iPolitics. If approved, Shoppers could distribute medical pot to Canadians with a prescription at its more than 1,300 stores across the country.

"We have no intention of producing medical marijuana but we do want the ability to dispense medical marijuana to our patients in conjunction with counselling from a pharmacist and we are hopeful that the Government of Canada will embrace that opportunity for enhanced patient care," Shoppers spokesperson Tammy Smitham said in an email statement to iPolitics.

The application is now before Health Canada, and the amount of time it takes for approval varies. The department has so far issued 36 licenses.

Read More: Medical Pot Patients Can Now Legally Grow Weed at Home, Hurray!

If given the green light, Shoppers represents the first major competition to the hundreds of storefront dispensaries that have popped up across Canada, in a legal grey zone, especially in major cities like Toronto and Vancouver.

Earlier this year, Shoppers acknowledged it was exploring the possibility of entering into the pot business.

It is the first retail chain to put in a formal application.

Shoppers' biggest competitor, Rexall, has said it is not exploring the possibility of entering into medical pot distribution at this time.

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