Cannabis on sale at Florida gas stations

Floridians will be able to fill up on petrol and Diesel at the same time.

Green Thumb Industries (GTI), the’one of the largest multi-state operators in the United States, has signed an agreement with Circle K - one of the world's largest convenience store chains - to lease space and open medical cannabis dispensaries adjacent to Circle K stores in Florida.

GTI plans to roll out 10 stores in 2023 to test the model.

GTI, which also owns the Rise Dispensaries chain, will name its Florida stores Rise Express. Rise Express stores will sell cannabis flowers, pre-rolled vape cartridges and edibles.

Circle K, owned by the Canadian Couche-Tard group, has over 600 stores in Florida.

«The opening of Rise Express stores in Circle K stores is a game changer. Convenience is a strong channel in retail, and people want better access to cannabis,» said Ben Kovler, founder and CEO of GTI, in a statement.

The products to be sold in Rise Express stores will come from GTI's 10-hectare Florida cultivation site in Ocala, due to be operational by the end of 2022.

According to the state health department, Florida has over 700,000 medical cannabis cardholders. Recreational cannabis is still prohibited.

The Group Couche-Tard announced in 2017 to start selling cannabis. In 2019, the company announced that it had made a strategic investment in Fire & Flower. The partnership resulted in the opening of two branches in Alberta, again alongside Circle K convenience stores.

More recently, last September, the two continued their joint growth by opening a cannabis sales outlet, Spark Perks, in Brampton, Ontario, also adjacent to a Circle K gas station.

In 2021, Couche-Tard also joined forces with Canopy Growth, to introduce Tweed businesses in Ontario and sell Whisl CBD vaper cartridges in Circle K's 3,000 U.S. locations.