Yannick Craigwell doesnB次元官网网址檛 need to guess how large the Canadian appetite will be for edible pot once itB次元官网网址檚 legal. He already knows B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 huge.
The Vancouver entrepreneur whips up marijuana-infused cookies, brownies and fudge that he sells online through his company Treats and Treats.
B次元官网网址淥nce it becomes legal, I think the only thing thatB次元官网网址檚 going to change is youB次元官网网址檙e going to get the people who were raised to think B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址榃eed is bad, itB次元官网网址檚 the devilB次元官网网址檚 lettuce,B次元官网网址� and theyB次元官网网址檙e going to be open to trying,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not really anything to be afraid of, but we are stigmatized by the laws that we have on the books.B次元官网网址�
Businesses across Canada are cooking up weed-laced goodies to prepare for their legalization next year. Companies are betting on a big market and hope to avoid some of the pitfalls seen in U.S. jurisdictions when edibles were legalized.
The only legal marijuana on Oct. 17 will be fresh or dried bud, oil, plants and seeds. The federal government has promised to develop regulations to support the sale of edibles and concentrates within a year and will launch consultations later in 2018 and 2019.
CanadaB次元官网网址檚 cautious approach stands in contrast with Colorado, which had practically no restrictions when pot treats hit stores in 2014. The Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center received 87 marijuana exposure calls about children that year, nearly doubling the previous yearB次元官网网址檚 total, though no children died.
The statistic grabbed headlines and pushed the state to introduce regulations in 2015. Edibles must now be contained in child-resistant packages, stamped with a universal symbol and divided into servings of 10 or fewer milligrams of THC, potB次元官网网址檚 psychoactive ingredient. They also canB次元官网网址檛 be shaped like animals, fruit or people.
The dangers of edibles hit close to home last week when a young child on Vancouver Island ate pot-infused gummy bears. She was rushed to hospital in medical distress, RCMP said, but was expected to fully recover.
Health Canada is considering requiring a standardized cannabis symbol on labels and banning product forms, ingredients and flavouring agents that appeal to kids, said spokeswoman Tammy Jarbeau. Previously introduced regulations already require marijuana to be in child-resistant packaging.
The effects of edibles take longer to be experienced and last longer than those caused by smoking cannabis, she said, putting users at risk of overconsumption. And since edibles can look like normal food, thereB次元官网网址檚 a risk that children and pets will accidentally eat them, she added.
B次元官网网址淭hese two issues point to the need to control the amount of THC in edibles, as well as the need for measures to ensure that edibles are appropriately packaged and labelled,B次元官网网址� she said.
ItB次元官网网址檚 illegal for anyone other than a licensed producer to sell medical pot, but Craigwell said he operates in the B次元官网网址済rey.B次元官网网址� He requires online buyers to agree to terms and conditions that state they need cannabis for medical reasons and he also sells his edibles in dispensaries in Vancouver, where police have chosen not to crack down.
A standard dose of THC in Colorado is 10 mg, but CraigwellB次元官网网址檚 goodies range from 90 mg to 175 mg. He said heB次元官网网址檚 open to the government mandating a lower dose, but it should consider what customers want.
B次元官网网址淎ll youB次元官网网址檙e doing is risking them going into the black market,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淢y business model wonB次元官网网址檛 succeed if I donB次元官网网址檛 have customers.B次元官网网址�
Craigwell advised first-timers to eat a small piece and wait to feel the effects.
B次元官网网址淪tart off with a quarter. Work your way up to a half, and then a whole,B次元官网网址� he said.
Experts predict edibles will eat up a major chunk of the market once legal. Six out of 10 likely pot consumers will choose edibles, according to a Deloitte survey of 1,500 Canadians.
The format has less stigma than smoking, said Deloitte partner Jennifer Lee.
B次元官网网址淲e found that it was really a product category B次元官网网址� baked goods, chocolate, candy, beverages, honey, (ice pops) B次元官网网址� that is much more accessible,B次元官网网址� she said.
Some companies are banking on alcohol-free cannabis beverages rising to the top of the pack.
The Coca-Cola Company has reportedly been in talks with Aurora Cannabis Inc. about beverages containing a non-psychoactive pot component. Molson Coors Canada teamed up with HEXO Corp. to sell marijuana-infused drinks, while Constellation Brands Inc., which makes Corona beer, invested $5 billion in Canopy Growth Corp.
Bruce Linton, CanopyB次元官网网址檚 CEO, noted itB次元官网网址檚 already common to socialize over a beverage.
B次元官网网址淎t five oB次元官网网址檆lock, do you want to meet for a gummy bear or a glass of wine?B次元官网网址� he asked.
Canopy has developed calorie-free drinks that deliver a high within seven to 12 minutes, rather than the usual delayed onset of an edible, Linton added.
Province Brands CEO Dooma Wendschuh said his company has also created a way to speed up the onset of a high from its beers brewed from the cannabis plant.
But Wendschuh said developing a product prior to its legalization has its challenges. He canB次元官网网址檛 currently taste-test the beers in this country.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been absurd,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚n Canada, we can make this product B次元官网网址� but no oneB次元官网网址檚 allowed to drink it.B次元官网网址�
Laura Kane, The Canadian Press
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