Walmart Conducted 'Preliminary Fact-Finding' For Selling Marijuana Products In Canada

Just days ahead of the full legalization of cannabis in Canada, the Canadian arm of retail giant Walmart Inc WMT confirmed it looked into selling cannabis products in its stores.

What Happened

Canadians may be able to purchase cannabis at some point in the future at Walmart stores, although it won't be in the near term.

In a statement sent to Bloomberg, Walmart Canada spokeswoman Diane Medeiros confirmed the retail giant conducted "some preliminary fact-finding" related to selling cannabis-based products in stores. However, the company has no plans to carry cannabidiol (commonly known as CBD) products "at this time."

Why It's Important

Despite Walmart's confirmation it won't immediately enter the cannabis industry in Canada, there's reason to believe the retail giant is working with the cannabis industry, Forbes writer Mike Adams wrote in March. For example, Denver-based American Cannabis Company produces ancillary cannabis products and struck a distribution deal with Walmart. Of course, American law would need to change to legalize sale of cannabis products at national retailers.

What's Next

Even though Walmart won't proceed in the near-term with selling cannabis products, other Canadian retail giants such as Shoppers Drug Mart have already received approval from Health Canada to do so themselves, Bloomberg reported.

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Photo credit: Walmart Corporate from Bentonville, USA, via Wikimedia Common