Second of a series on the development of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 craft cannabis production.

When Canada was approaching cannabis legalization in the fall of 2017, Travis Lane made a prediction: if underground producers were shut out, the country would be running out of legal marijuana within a month.

In the year since legalization actually took effect, in the fall of 2018 after a four-month delay, that initial shortage has led to a glut as large-scale greenhouse growers ramped up production. With its tax-heavy price and variable quality, legal cannabis has barely dented the market in British Columbia, one of the strongest and most famous in the world.

At that time, Lane was director of the fledgling B.C. Independent Cannabis Association, representing licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. As a long-time grower for compassion clubs and dispensaries, Lane was in the B次元官网网址済rey marketB次元官网网址� that Premier John Horgan wants welcomed into the age of legalization.

B次元官网网址淭he last study I saw where the numbers looked realistic put it at about 12 per cent of sales in Canada were legal and 88 per cent were illegal,B次元官网网址� Lane said in an interview with Black Press. B次元官网网址淎nd I think thatB次元官网网址檚 not a bad number for the first year, but it could be a hell of a lot better with regulations that are more business-favourable.B次元官网网址�

Will BC break even on sales this year? Still soon to say, says

B次元官网网址� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)

Now Lane has three producer licence applications in to Health Canada, for facilities he wants to build in Greater Victoria. He says he can soon be in production as Whippletree Organics, Captured Light and Nuvem Nurseries, to provide more B.C. craft options for retail stores that are largely supplied by big producers.

The association has changed its focus to cannabis education, working on industry training with Camosun College and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. But Lane says they still do some government lobbying, speaking to Health Canada and B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike FarnworthB次元官网网址檚 ministry.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 getting better,B次元官网网址� Lane says of the licensing system. B次元官网网址淭he regulators are bureaucrats so it takes time to get through to them, but we have found that it is easier for small businesses to get into the space and operate.B次元官网网址�

PART ONE:

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Lane says he has financing for his three brands, but many small producers canB次元官网网址檛 afford to build their facility, get it federally inspected, and then wait even longer for a licence before they generate their first dollar.

B次元官网网址淚t might be easier to fill out the forms and figure out what you want to do and what licence to apply for, but people are still waiting nine months, a year for their licences to be approve, which leaves businesses in the lurch,B次元官网网址� Lane said.

Farnworth agrees that Ottawa is making progress. He recently visited growers in the Kootenay region, which now has a $676,000 grant to help with the layers of federal, provincial and municipal licensing and zoning regulations. And he has been working with Health Canada on the financing issue.

B次元官网网址淥ne of the things we have been saying is that they need to have a licensing and production regime that allows for small-scale production to take place, that is not too onerous,B次元官网网址� Farnworth said in an interview. B次元官网网址淩ight now there are challenges with that, because you in essence have to have your facility built before theyB次元官网网址檒l give you a licence. How are you going to get financing if you canB次元官网网址檛 get a licence?B次元官网网址�

By mid-November, B.C. had nearly 200 retail store licences issued, and was second to Ontario in the crucial federal production licences. Farnworth said the B.C. Cannabis Stores, the provinceB次元官网网址檚 monopoly wholesale and online seller of recreational marijuana, is still getting much of its product from large producers, some out of province.

Lane says Farnworth should reconsider B次元官网网址渇armgateB次元官网网址� sales for cannabis, as B.C. has done successfully with wine and beer. But Health Canada has kept its medical model strictly in place, with tobacco-style excise tax stamps and graphics restrictions, along with elaborate security packaging.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 a craft beer guy,B次元官网网址� Lane said, and one way B.C. craft beer producers have made inroads into a market dominated by multi-national beer companies is through edgy, innovative branding, and brewery tours.

B次元官网网址淭hose big public companies, theyB次元官网网址檙e not necessarily interested in producing high-quality product,B次元官网网址� Lane said. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e producing as much as they can. And thereB次元官网网址檚 a place in the market for that, just like Budweiser, just like Coca-Cola.B次元官网网址�

Farmgate sales is the key to craft producers getting traction, he says.

B次元官网网址淭here hasnB次元官网网址檛 been a whole lot of movement on it, but there arenB次元官网网址檛 a whole lot of local B.C. licensees yet,B次元官网网址� Lane said. B次元官网网址淎nd so itB次元官网网址檚 kind of a chicken or egg situation. Who are they going to give the farmgate licence to if we donB次元官网网址檛 have a half-dozen micros somewhere in Victoria and Vancouver? TheyB次元官网网址檙e going to end up giving it to Tweed or something like that, and thatB次元官网网址檚 exactly what they donB次元官网网址檛 want.B次元官网网址�

Next part: The Community Safety Unit cracks down, as edibles arrive.

tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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