St. Stephen is now home to New Brunswick's fifth official farmgate cannabis retail location and the first in Charlotte County. On April 20th, Stewart Farms founder Tanner Stewart officially opened the doors to Stewart Farms Herbal Dispensary, offering locally-grown cannabis and infused bath bombs, among other products.

The launch party was well-attended, and St. Croix MLA Kathy Bockus was on hand to cut the ribbon at precisely 4:20pm. The opening of Stewart Farms Herbal Dispensary is part of Cannabis NB's farmgate retail store program, which began in 2021. The program allows small-scale licensed cannabis producers to apply for permission to sell their products on-site where they are grown. Think of it as similar to how wineries operate at vineyards. The goal of the initiative is to provide more visibility to local producers, create tourism opportunities, and educate customers about local cannabis products.

Stewart Farms Herbal Dispensary will follow the same hours of operation as Cannabis NB, except for being closed on Mondays.

Stewart Farms is already a significant employer in the St. Stephen area, with 30 full-time workers and 16 part-time employees. The opening of the dispensary is expected to further expand the farm's workforce. Look for CHCO's full half hour tour of Stewart Farms with Tanner Stewart on an upcoming episode of Southwest Magazine.

Doug Harper of Harper's Exotic Animals & Pet Supply in St. Stephen has donated 1200 lbs of cat food to the Charlotte County SPCA. To give you an idea of how much food this is, this amount will last approximately 6 cats for up to 4 years.

Neighbourhood Works launched its Better Together campaign in St. Stephen on Friday. The goal is to raise $1.5 million towards supporting youth transitional housing and The Link Resource Centre at 59 Union Street. which is the former Holy Rosary Catholic Church. The church has been repurposed as the new headquarters for Neighbourhood Works and will house the eight-bed Transitional Housing program. This program offers supportive housing to homeless or at-risk youth aged 16 to 22. The Link Resource Centre will provide a centralized location for various support services to youth and adults facing challenges. Neighbourhood Works has already raised over $850,000 towards the goal.