Canada legalizes cannabis: October 17th, 2018

[S.J.B.]

Cannabis will be legalized in Canada in one week from today! For this very special occasion I thought it would be nice to have a thread where we can post news articles, our thoughts, and maybe even some photos.

To kick things off, here is an article from Vice describing all the places in Canada where cannabis will be sold legally on Day One:

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All the Places in Canada You Can Get Legal Cannabis on Weed Day
Mack Lamoureux
Vice
October 9th, 2018

To summarize:

B.C.: 1 store (Kamloops)

Alberta: 17 stores (6 in Edmonton, 3 in Medicine Hat, 2 each in Calgary and Fort Saskatchewan, 1 each in Stony Plain, Devon, Spruce Grove, and St. Albert)

Saskatchewan: 4 stores (1 each in Yorkton, the RM of Edenwold, Battleford, and North Battleford)

Manitoba: 4 stores

Ontario: no stores, online sales only

Quebec: 12 stores (3 in Montreal, 2 in Quebec City, 1 each in Levis, Trois-Rivieres, Drummondville, Rimouski, Mirabel, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, and Mascouche)

New Brunswick: 20 stores

Nova Scotia: 12 stores

Prince Edward Island: 3 stores

Newfoundland and Labrador: 24 stores

Yukon: 1 store (just outside of Whitehorse)

Northwest Territories: sold in liquor stores (Yellowknife, Hay River, Inuvik, Fort Smith, Norman Wells and Fort Simpson)

Nunavut: no stores, online sales only

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Looks like the Atlantic provinces are on top of things.

 

[S.J.B.]

Legalizing pot in Canada: The key things to know
CTV News
October 10th, 2018

WHAT'S ALLOWED

Canada's Cannabis Act allows people 18 and older to buy marijuana online or in retail stores. Most provinces have raised the minimum age to 19, however, to align with the drinking age. In the U.S., states with recreational legalization have an age limit of 21, which matches the drinking age.

Canadian law sets a 30-gram limit on how much people can buy at once or possess in public. That's just over an ounce, which is the possession limit in all but one of the U.S. states with legal pot -- Maine's limit is 2.5 ounces (71 grams). However, there's no limit on how much Canadians can possess in their homes.

The Canadian law also allows for residents to grow up to four plants at home, though two provinces -- Quebec and Manitoba -- opted to forbid home-growing. U.S. states including California, Nevada, Alaska and Colorado allow home-growing of up to six plants.

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WHAT'S AVAILABLE

Unlike in the U.S., where many types of products are available, Canada is for now allowing sales of only dried cannabis flower, tinctures, capsules and seeds. Marijuana-infused foods and concentrates are expected to be available in about a year.

Residents across Canada will be able to buy marijuana online, through websites run by each province -- a handy resource for cannabis users in any cities that might decide to ban pot shops. Most provinces will have at least some stores open next Wednesday, ranging from 20 in New Brunswick to a single store in British Columbia. Hundreds more are expected to open nationwide over the next year.

Read the full story here.

 

[w01fg4ng]

The number of stores are expected to increase dramatically within the next year, fyi.

I also just posted this in CD a few minutes ago for those of you lucky enough to work in the industry in Canada:

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has officially loosened it's border policy for Canadians working in the industry.

In short, if you work in the industry you will be allowed into the states but only if for non-industry reasons. Many feared that they wouldn't be able to enter the US at all and that has now changed.

Obviously, the US Customs and Border Protection still has a long way to go but this is good news for progress for both the US and Canada.


Congrats!!

 

[S.J.B.]

The number of stores are expected to increase dramatically within the next year, fyi.

Yep, I'm sure the number will grow quite quickly once the money starts rolling in.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has officially loosened it's border policy for Canadians working in the industry.

In short, if you work in the industry you will be allowed into the states but only if for non-industry reasons. Many feared that they wouldn't be able to enter the US at all and that has now changed.

That's great news! Thanks for sharing.

 

[S.J.B.]

Inside Canada's trailblazing, taboo-breaking, billionaire-making sprint to legalization, as told by those who made it happen
National Post
October 12th, 2018

On Oct. 17, recreational cannabis will become legal in Canada. This is the story of how we got here and what will happen next, as recounted by fifteen government and industry insiders who have watched the vast social and economic project take shape.

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1. THE ROAD TO ROYAL ASSENT

The legalization of recreational cannabis was a conspicuous and controversial part of Justin Trudeau's campaign platform during the 2015 election, and once in office, he wasted little time in tasking former Toronto police chief Bill Blair with making the promise a legislative reality. But putting an end to nearly a century of pot prohibition, and coming up with a regulatory framework to govern the drug, was no simple matter. Bill C-45, The Cannabis Act, was introduced on April 13, 2017, and ultimately passed in June of this year, but not before a tense final vote in the Senate threatened to delay legalization indefinitely.

Bill Blair, Liberal MP: "I retire and I'm approached by Justin Trudeau who comes and speaks to me. We met in Scarborough. He and I went and sat alone in a restaurant and talked for nearly three hours. We talked about a lot of different things but among the things we talked about was cannabis policy and that strict regulatory approach as opposed to an ineffective criminal sanction. We found, very quickly, common ground. About a month after we formed government, he reached out to me and asked if I would serve as parliamentary secretary -- to be the point person on this file."

Vic Neufeld, CEO of Aphria: "When you read the pulse of Prime Minister Trudeau and his platforms, it was only a matter of time before recreational weed would come to the forefront. Medical was a great beginning. It's the DNA of Aphria. It was only a matter of time for rec. The unknown back then was to what sort of degree it would be on a national basis. Would it be online only, would it be brick and mortar, would the provinces have full control over their respective jurisdictions? A lot of unknowns. Back then it was very sketchy and there was no clarity. Today we know where every province is going."

Bill Blair: "That was actually a pretty exciting time, because we were learning a lot. I also became aware of how complicated this was. We were creating a new commodities industry in Canada. There isn't really any model for how you create an industry like that, and so I reached out to the business schools, I went to other similar industries to ask them about their experience with regulation."

Read the full story here.

 

[S.J.B.]

Smiths Falls town back to high times after cannabis creates 800 jobs, saving community
Andy Blatchford
National Post
October 13th, 2018

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. -- The place pot put on the map, weed capital of Canada, the little town that marijuana saved -- folks in Smiths Falls have many ways of describing their community's transformation, but all of them stick to a common theme.

The Ontario community, home to fewer than 9,000 people, had become all too familiar with the pain of economic hardship over the years.

It now finds itself in an envious position: at the leading edge of the global, multibillion-dollar cannabis industry.

The area, about an hour's drive southwest of Ottawa, is home to the headquarters for Tweed Inc. and parent company Canopy Growth Corp., which make up one of the world's largest licensed cannabis companies.

Along with its wider international expansion, around Smiths Falls the producer has been growing like a weed.

Read the full story here.

Here's a photo of some of Tweed's retail cannabis packaging. Looks pretty slick:

NSFW:

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Tuesday is last chance to shut down illegal cannabis dispensaries, Ontario government warns
Jake Edmiston
National Post
October 15th, 2018

Tuesday is the final day for illegal cannabis dispensaries to close, with the Ontario government threatening that if they don't, they'll be blocked from the legal retail market when it opens in April, 2019.

"Anyone operating a storefront after Oct. 17 is doing so illegally," the Ontario Attorney General's office said in a statement Monday.

"Failure to comply with the rules, whether provincial or federal, would preclude someone from obtaining a Retail Operator's Licence."

Dispensary owners across the province -- at least the ones unwilling to risk a future in legal retail -- appear to be heeding the warning en masse, planning to shutter their stores before legalization comes into force on Wednesday. Since Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government scrapped their Liberal predecessor's plans for government-run stores in favour of a private retail model, the illegal dispensaries have been offered a route into the legal market. For now, the Ford government is only offering an online cannabis retailer as a stop-gap while the province works to issue licences to private retailers. If the dispensaries want one of those licences, they can't be running afoul of the law when it comes into effect.

"That message has been delivered loud and clear," said Trina Fraser, a prominent lawyer who advises on the cannabis industry.

Read the full story here.

That's a clever way to get the illicit stores to close without any hassle.

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I got the following flyer in the mail about two weeks ago, from the federal government:

NSFW:

Quebec work crews scramble to finish cannabis stores ahead of Wednesday deadline
Brayden Haines
Global News
October 15th, 2018

Quebec cannabis stores are set to open across the province on Wednesday, but will they be ready? As Global's Brayden Jagger Haines reports, even though some store are still under construction, the SQDC says they will be open on time.

Read the full story and watch the video here.

 

[S.J.B.]

Moving to CD due to lack of interest in DitM.

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Meet your e-dealer: Shopify confident its online tech can handle cannabis demand
Hannah Thibedeau, Christina Romualdo
CBC
October 16th, 2018

If the rollout of legal recreational marijuana goes (more or less) smoothly this week, an Ottawa-based tech firm will be able to claim at least some of the credit.

Canadian cannabis-fanciers are expected to log on in large numbers to buy the product online after it becomes officially legal one minute after midnight tonight. In four provinces, that online shopping experience will be shaped largely by a single company: Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify.

The company was chosen to design the retail platform for online sales in Ontario, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Shopify's Vice-President and General Manager Loren Padelford laughed when asked whether he thinks he's joining the marijuana trade this week.

"We're not the seller of the products," he said. "We're the facilitator of the technology. We give people the platform to sell whatever they want, as long as that's legal."

Read the full story here.

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Step inside a Winnipeg cannabis store
Aidan Geary
CBC
October 16th, 2018

Before you make it inside the Delta 9 cannabis store in Winnipeg's St. Vital neighbourhood, you'll have to pull out your wallet to flash your ID.

Assuming you're 19 or older, you'll then step into one of the province's first legal recreational cannabis retail spaces.

From there, CEO John Arbuthnot wants you to think, "Wow."

The retail space at 827 Dakota St. is one of five Winnipeg retail spaces that will open on Wednesday morning, the day recreational cannabis becomes legal in Canada.

It's a large, white room, with only a few glass display cases in the centre and spaced-out shelves on the walls. In the back right corner there's Delta 9-branded clothes. In the front left corner, there's a space for one-on-one product consultations. There's a large Delta 9 logo made of living moss on the wall and images of clouds.

Read the full story here (with photos and video).

NSFW:

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Here's a sneak peek inside a Quebec cannabis store
Benjamin Shingler
CBC
October 16th, 2018

The Societe quebecoise du cannabis (SQDC) opened one of its stores to media on Tuesday, a day ahead of legalization.

Reporters were shown around the outlet on St-Hubert Street, one of three in Montreal set to open to the public tomorrow.

Jean-Francois Bergeron, a representative for the new government retailer, said the goal is to strike a balance: make the products enticing and affordable enough to compete with what's sold on the black market, while also ensuring they are consumed safely.

"The mission is not to promote consumption," said Bergeron, a vice-president at Quebec's liquor corporation (SAQ), which is overseeing the SQDC.

"It's really to distribute in a safe manner across Quebec."

Read the full story here (with photos).

NSFW:

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I walked by my local store again tonight, and it looks ready to go! The design is very minimalist and they don't allow any product to be seen from the street:

NSFW:

 

[Thomas Davie]

Cannabis NB Online (New Brunswick) sold out of most of their pre rolls within 20 minutes.
Ontario store up and running and looks to have lots of stock.
Manitoba, so far has one online store up and running. That sold out of 6 of its 8 products within 3 hours. The 'top shelf' sold out within 10 minutes. However, this online store was/is run by one licensed producer and their physical stores don't open for another 4-5 hours. The brick and mortar stores are supposed to have a few hundred products.

I picked up some White Walker Kush, Sour OG, Northern Lights Haze and Lime (Kush?) at vastly inflated prices. As expected, the online shopping was painless and I was allowed to select a 2 hour window for delivery.


Tom

 

[w01fg4ng]

Sounds like day 1 in Colorado. Sold out in minutes, overpriced and crowded. Legalization is like a fine wine...


What I'm curious about is how the packaging looks. Weed in the mail is foreign to me. What does it look like?

 

[The Network]

My friend who is (was) a pretty hardcore psychonaut always told me a lot of canada already had semi-legal dispensaries that almost anyone could go to. Not really quite legal but he said they weren't bothered as long as they didn't do stupid things like sell to obvious kids.

 

[w01fg4ng]

It's a new day...

 

[Thomas Davie]

Sounds like day 1 in Colorado. Sold out in minutes, overpriced and crowded. Legalization is like a fine wine...


What I'm curious about is how the packaging looks. Weed in the mail is foreign to me. What does it look like?

I ended up at the recreational store at 7:15 am. 7 people in line in front of me, with one person having camped out in a tent since 3pm the previous day. Turns out the sister store opened at 8 am and sold out. The store I was at opened at 10 am, and by that time the lineup was a few hundred people. But they had rail guidelines set up and security guards so no line jumping or hassles. They let 50 people in the store at a time and had about 20 tethered iPads set up with stock lists (110,000g for that store alone). I was feeling pretty sick because I'd skipped breakfast, taken bp meds and had been standing for over 3 hours so I just grabbed 30g of the strongest indica. Turns out it was leafs by snoop.

I'll take a photo and upload it into this thread. The containers however are metal, painted in white with plastic seals on 2 sides and excise tax stamps on one other side. Containers are approximately 2 inches by 2 inches by 2 inches with an insanely impossible to open child proof screw cap top. But that was only for the 'snoop' brand. Some mylar foil bag types, which I didn't get and others were colored cardboard (again with security stickers and excise tax stamps).


I was in such a hurry to get out before puking that I didn't check my purchase. I'd been shorted 1 3.5g container, but a quick call to the producer sorted things out.


Tom

 

[S.J.B.]

I'm happy to say that I made a legal cannabis purchase at a cannabis store this morning.

 

[thujone]

So it's legal now, but in Ontario only via online order at the low-key "Ontario Cannabis Store", and they only take credit card, which we've been warned is a good way of being permabanned from entering the U.S. if we use to buy pot. Selection looks pretty good but it isn't competitive with existing MoMs on price yet. Interestingly though, it looks like there's at least one solid option for high-CBD/low-THC so that's nice.

There's a snafu in the works with the postal service announcing a strike notice so that's going to delay orders for people. Meanwhile the pop-up dispensaries have been warned that if they want to play in the legal market, which doesn't launch until April, they better shut it down now or else risk being shut out.

We can have four plants and there's no limit to how much dried nug we can store at home, so that seems like a good route to take. I'm thinking of going to Home Depot later to pick up some supplies for a stealth SCroG. I wonder about the legality of launching a clone shop early so people can choose to grow strains that commercial ops don't want to touch.

Anywho, it was a long time coming, and even though it's a plant anyone anywhere can grow, I think it's safe to say it has always been deeply embedded in the Canadian national identity. I am most looking forward to the sanctioned research into medical benefits that will vindicate what we have suspected about this beautiful plant.

 

[Thomas Davie]

Here's an angle view of a 'Leafs by Snoop' 3.5g container. I placed it directly in front of a laptop trackpad.

Here's an excise tax stamp that every single legal Cannabis product will have (in some form)

Early customers received a $20(?) Tim Horton's card.

Tom

 

[The Network]

Can you guys get some good research done while the US federal government is being worthless? So many decades of complete lack of research that we need to make up for

 

[Thomas Davie]

Can you guys get some good research done while the US federal government is being worthless? So many decades of complete lack of research that we need to make up for

Within 2 years there will probably be university funded positions if the Liberals retake power next October. But we're working on national blanket pardons for certain Cannabis crimes before the election. Good chance of that happening.

Tom

 

[teflon320]

Traffic was fucked on the way home from work today. Fucking pot heads.

 

[w01fg4ng]

Thank you for the information and pictures, everyone! I almost feel like I was there...

 

[Yourbaker]

I was a bit sad that I was working but one of the companies I sub contract to desperately call me to work on the day of legalization. In honour I made all cookie batches in sizes of 420 and baked everything in multiples of 420 seconds (7minutes). Not at all shockingly everything was perfectly baked.

I have lived within walking distance of two first nation dispensaries for the last year so it is a bit anti climatic but it is nice to be able to share over the fence with the neighbour and not worry about who is being offended.