One year to the day, Cannabis was was legalized throughout Canada, or was it? The fact of the matter is that only certain aspects of Marijuana are legal in Canada. Furthermore, each province is able to implement its own limits. Municipalities can block local companies via the rejection of licenses. In fact, edibles won’t be available in Quebec.
Ultimately federally, marijuana up until today was only legal in certain forms including, aerosols, oils, plants, and the dry flower bud that is typically smoked. Today starts the process of you being able to legally consume edibles.
Industry Boost
Today, the edibles industry is worth nearly $3Billion dollars according to Deloitte. We have talked about the surprising loss of money seen by publically traded companies and provinces in the area of Cannabis. El Chapo became a billionaire, these Canadian companies lose money selling cannabis for more than the black market value. The legal price is of cannabis is $10.23 per gram while the black market price is $5.59 per gram.
Take a look at the numbers from Statistics Canada on the Cannabis consumer and producer prices. Below is a price index where 2012 = 100. Notice how illegal sales (unlicensed) continue to plummet while legal prices continue to rise
| Quater | Medical use | Non-medical purposes (licensed) | Non-medical purposes (unlicensed) |
| 2014 Q2 | 100 | … | 98.3 |
| 2014 Q3 | 100 | … | 97 |
| 2014 Q4 | 91.7 | … | 95.5 |
| 2015 Q1 | 91.7 | … | 93.9 |
| 2015 Q2 | 93.8 | … | 92.6 |
| 2015 Q3 | 91.3 | … | 91.5 |
| 2015 Q4 | 90.9 | … | 90.6 |
| 2016 Q1 | 89.6 | … | 90.1 |
| 2016 Q2 | 89.4 | … | 88.9 |
| 2016 Q3 | 87.5 | … | 87.4 |
| 2016 Q4 | 86.8 | … | 85.6 |
| 2017 Q1 | 83.9 | … | 83.3 |
| 2017 Q2 | 82.2 | … | 81.8 |
| 2017 Q3 | 80.7 | … | 80.7 |
| 2017 Q4 | 80.1 | … | 80.3 |
| 2018 Q1 | 88.8 | … | 80.1 |
| 2018 Q2 | 88.7 | … | 79.9 |
| 2018 Q3 | 90.1 | … | 81.3 |
| 2018 Q4 | 89.3 | 99.4 | 80.4 |
| 2019 Q1 | 98.6 | 99.5 | 77.9 |
| 2019 Q2 | 101.4 | 103.3 | 74.9 |
Imagine having to do that math while living in one of Canada’s expensive housing markets. With numbers like that, it’s easy to see how the Canadian legal cannabis market continues to lose money.
The ability to sell weed in an edible form opens the opportunity for new businesses to enter the cannabis market including, restaurants, beverages like biosteel, and yes, of course, cookies.
The Health Benefits
Many will argue that smoking marijuana is bad for your health. None of those people can showcase a single case of cancer or death attributed solely to the consumption of cannabis. However, let’s say smoking is bad. Edibles provide an alternative, where you can eat cannabis rather than smoke
Since smoking is medically considered a bad thing, no doctor is going to recommend it. Many people simply wouldn’t try it. CBD, the popularly considered medically beneficial part of Cannabis if oftentimes delivered through edibles. So your elderly parent or shy friend can easily take that first step.
The Negatives of CBD and Edibles
What negatives? Well, there is the fact that for years, research into these substances was practically banned across the globe. Only negative reports were allowed to be published on the subject. The lack of research is the point of this rant and the corroboration of its suppression.
For the most part, edibles are not an exact science. You don’t know how much of the active ingredient you are actually consuming. You and a friend can both take a bite, with all things being equal between you, could still have different experiences. According to Health Canada, there is also a delay in the effect
The Legal Specifics
Of course, we were going to cover this grandiose day in history. Now when you indulge in edibles, you can relax in knowing its legal. Keep in mind that just like when weed became legal, you probably won’t see edibles on dispensary shelves until December.
As of today. licensed producers can submit their edible products to Health Canada for approval. Those products will then be subjected to 30-90 day approval process. Ultimately, you will be able to find marijuana edibles at your local dispensary or directly from the government
BC solicitor general Mike Farnworth recently said “gummy bears for example will not be allowed. Brightly coloured candies will not be allowed. There are very strict rules and regulations on the types on the types of edibles and the types of dosages that are going to be permitted”. Also consider that the police have raided online edible dispensaries after legalization because they have not gone through the licensing process.
Conclusion
You no longer have to smoke if that’s not your thing. At this point, there is little excuse not to at least consider ways in which THC and CBD can benefit you
