Third in a series on B.C.B次元官网网址檚 craft cannabis industry.

B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth and Finance Minister Carole James were the NDPB次元官网网址檚 point persons on pot a year before they formed a minority government with the B.C. Greens.

In 2016, Farnworth and James toured legal marijuana operations in Oregon and neighbouring Washington, where recreational cannabis has been legal since 2012. As they prepared the NDPB次元官网网址檚 election platform on how to handle legalization, Farnworth remembers visiting an Oregon store that offered cannabis-infused ice cream.

B次元官网网址淚 asked, whatB次元官网网址檚 the dosage like?B次元官网网址� Farnworth said in an interview. B次元官网网址淭hey said oh, a tablespoon. And I remember thinking, who eats a tablespoon of ice cream?B次元官网网址�

With Health Canada restrictions on products and packaging to keep cannabis away from kids and prevent overdoses, B.C. stores wonB次元官网网址檛 be selling ice cream when edible products become available in the weeks ahead. Farnworth is expecting a limited selection of cannabis edibles will pass Health CanadaB次元官网网址檚 60-day approval process for new products.

...and hereB次元官网网址檚 a month later

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

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e made it clear there is not going to be a full range of products that you might see, say in Oregon where you can get ice cream for example,B次元官网网址� Farnworth said. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e not going to see that here. WeB次元官网网址檙e looking at late December to mid-January, is the latest information about when youB次元官网网址檙e going to see [edible] product in stores and available online.B次元官网网址�

Edibles and beverages, or B次元官网网址淐annabis 2.0B次元官网网址� in industry jargon, are another challenge for B.C. in keeping its small-producer craft cannabis industry from being overwhelmed by big players. Anheuser-Busch Inbev, the international beer giant that owns LabattB次元官网网址檚 and Budweiser, has launched a joint venture with B.C.-based multinational cannabis producer Tilray to produce drinks with the main active ingredients, THC and CBD, by the end of 2019.

Canopy Growth Corp. has unveiled the first of its line of soft drinks, chocolates and other edibles under its Tweed brand, and Molson Coors predicts that beverages may end up with 20 per cent or more of the Canadian cannabis market. Molson Coors took a controlling interest in a joint beverage venture with Quebec marijuana producer HEXO, which is launching a national discount dried marijuana product called B次元官网网址淥riginal StashB次元官网网址� that sells for $4.99 per gram.

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PART TWO:

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After amending a half dozen B.C. laws to allow recreational cannabis sales, setting up a monopoly wholesale system run by the Liquor Distribution Branch and struggling to get government and private stores up and running, Farnworth also faced the task of dealing with stores that had opened without licences and simply carried on.

Enter the Community Safety Unit, a division of FarnworthB次元官网网址檚 ministry that works with police to shut down illegal sellers that still hold the vast majority of the B.C. cannabis market. Its raids included the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, which operated for more than 20 years as a medical dispensary.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e had a good response,B次元官网网址� Farnworth said at the end of October. B次元官网网址淎t last count, there have been 50-some-odd illegal operations that have either shut down voluntarily, or have had their product and the cash confiscated by the Community Safety Unit.B次元官网网址�

Premier John Horgan says these challenges are unique to B.C., where illegal sales were allowed to proliferate for years. Dealing with that is one reason why B.C. stands to lose money on its first year of cannabis sales.

B次元官网网址淲e had a grey market that had to be shut down so that an above-board legal market could thrive in a fair way,B次元官网网址� Horgan said as the B.C. legislature session wrapped up at the end of November. B次元官网网址淲e didnB次元官网网址檛 want people having an advantage because they had staked some territory illegally, and put those operators who wanted to be legal and above board at a disadvantage.B次元官网网址�

Long-time grower Travis Lane, who supplied dispensaries and now has three applications in for recreational cannabis production on Vancouver Island, says thereB次元官网网址檚 another reason B.C. has so far shunned legal marijuana marketed by big national companies.

B次元官网网址淲hen you look at B.C., we have an educated purchasing populace,B次元官网网址� Lane said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e to the point where theyB次元官网网址檙e going into these legal stores and trying it, and rejecting it for quality purposes or for cost. ThatB次元官网网址檚 where the market hasnB次元官网网址檛 caught up yet, is quality and cost.B次元官网网址�

tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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