Aurora Cannabis signs deal with Shopify to sell pot online

Thestar.com
July 19, 2018
Brennan Doherty

A major Canadian medicinal cannabis company has inked a deal with Shopify to build a platform for selling medicinal and recreational cannabis online --but Albertans won’t legally be able to buy the latter.

Aurora Cannabis, which is headquartered in Edmonton, will be moving its e-sales operations over to a platform developed by Shopify, the company said in a statement issued Monday.

“Selecting Shopify allows Aurora to bring a world-class ecommerce solution to our patients and future adult consumer use customers,” said Darryl Vleeming, CIO of Aurora Cannabis Inc, in the statement.

Doing so would help Aurora rapidly scale up its distribution, both domestically and internationally. At the moment, Aurora operates in 14 countries, including the United States. The company is known for having a wide range of operations across the cannabis industry’s entire spectrum --from cannabis research to production and distribution.

“The Shopify platform will allow Aurora to provide a tailored customer experience that embraces and adapts to the unique demands of both consumers and regulators, adapted to the specific needs of the various jurisdictions in which Aurora operates,” said Loren Padelford, Shopify vice-president, in the statement.

However, Albertans won’t be able to use Aurora’s new platform to buy cannabis for recreational use. In the province, only a single website run by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission --Albertacannabis.org --is allowed to do so. It will launch to coincide with the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada next October.

“If we become aware of any private retailers or anyone other than AGLC that is providing online cannabis sales, we’ll investigate it,” said Heather Helmen, an AGLC spokesperson.

Aurora Cannabis and Shopify did not respond to multiple requests from StarMetro Calgary seeking comment.