Industry experts discussed business development and economic impacts of growing CanadaB次元官网网址檚 cannabis industry at the Vancouver Island Economic Summit this week.

Moderator Peter Guo, Jeff Guignard, executive director of the ; Katrina Marquez, Tilray senior patient services manager; Allan Lingwood, chief compliance officer of Victoria-based cannabis retailer Original Farm gave presentations and fielded questions from the audience Thursday in Nanaimo, talking about the cannabis industryB次元官网网址檚 massive and rapid growth and its possible product and economic spinoffs.

B次元官网网址淧harmaceuticals, consumer products, retail, marketing, wholesale distribution, all those are playing and integrating and causing great disruption in this emerging service industry,B次元官网网址� Guo said.

Nanaimo-based Tilray Canada now has products in 12 countries.

B次元官网网址淲hat we are witnessing right now is a global paradigm shift and weB次元官网网址檙e very lucky to be Canadians and leading the world in this change,B次元官网网址� Marquez said.

With that shift is a projected $150 billion worldwide industry and the winners will be the players with the most recognized and trusted brand names and the ones that have sound and secure multinational supply chains and partnerships, she said.

The big names in alcohol, tobacco, soft drinks and other are already establishing their turf through multimillion-dollar deals and partnerships with cannabis producers. Tilray, which now employs 250 people at its 60,000-square-foot Nanaimo facility, has to help market to and educate doctors, pharmacists and hospitals about TilrayB次元官网网址檚 medicinal products.

Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmasave have applied for cannabis licences and some insurance companies, Marquez said, are now covering prescribed medical cannabis products.

story continues below

Panel from industry and regulation discuss the near future of cannabis industry in Canada at Vancouver Island Economic Summit.

B次元官网网址� Chris Bush (@ChrisBushphotog)

The recreational cannabis industry is expected to have a major economic impact in B.C.

There are currently 132 licensed Canadian producers. The B.C. Liquor and Cannabis Distribution Branch has signed agreements to retail products from 32 of those, 15 of which are in B.C., five on the Island.

Meanwhile, commercial growers are scrambling to meet demand for recreational cannabis. There is currently not enough cannabis to supply the Canadian recreational market, which according to statistics presented by MNP, consisted of 4.9 million cannabis-consuming Canadians in 2017 that created a estimated $5.7-billion market. As of June 2018, annual production of dried cannabis product and oil was 97 metric tonnes and the anticipated demand for cannabis by 2021 is expected to hit 734 metric tonnes.

The potential tax revenue is higher than for liquor sales. Colorado, which legalized cannabis, now takes in more tax revenue from cannabis than from liquor.

Marquez said Tilray and other producers are expanding existing facilities and acquiring properties B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� to increase production in Canada and abroad and will be hiring more people. Companies are also developing new methods and technologies for growing marijuana on a massive scale.

B次元官网网址淚t is critical that we have systemized production processes that we believe are efficient, scalable and replicable B次元官网网址� If you guys are watching the news, thereB次元官网网址檚 not enough cannabis in Canada right now, so we need to scale up very, very quickly,B次元官网网址� she said.

Guignard pointed out some of the unknowns around new kinds of cannabis products, such as THC-infused soft drinks, wine and beer and determining how combining alcohol and THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, impacts level of intoxication, which is of particular interest to police and insurance companies.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 money. ItB次元官网网址檚 liability,B次元官网网址� Guignard said.

story continues below

Susan Mowbray of MNP on : "What we are pretty sure of is that there is going to be a vibrant cannabis industry here on Vancouver Island and I would fully expect that there will be several strains that are branded as 'Island Good.'"

B次元官网网址� Nanaimo Bulletin (@NanaimoBulletin)

There is also the issue of B次元官网网址減olitical courageB次元官网网址� politicians and industry leaders will need, he said, the first time they are faced with a cannabis-associated fatal accident, while trying to defend the creation and expansion of a multi-billion-dollar industry with products designed to be safe for consumers while eradicating, through legalization and legislation, the black market and crime associated with illicit trade.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 going to take some courage when the first bad thing happens,B次元官网网址� Guignard said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to see B次元官网网址� I hate to say it B次元官网网址� some 16-year-old, high out of his mind, drives his car, kills somebody and thatB次元官网网址檚 going to be a massive pushback. How dare you legalize cannabis? You killed my son B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 a tough conversation and itB次元官网网址檚 going to take a lot of political courage to get through that and to stick with what weB次元官网网址檙e trying to do because itB次元官网网址檚 about public safety.B次元官网网址�

The economic summit, put on by the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance, was held Wednesday and Thursday at the Vancouver Island conference centre.

photos@nanaimobulletin.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter