“Alberta has four of the largest cannabis retailers in the world based here,” said Mison, a former executive with one of them, Edmonton-based Fire and Flower.
That should include a dramatic liberalization of highly restricted marketing and consumption rules governing the industry, he said. Canopy Growth unveiled the company’s edible products at Hotel Arts in Calgary on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019.The industry is also seeking to lift the 10-mg cap on THC for individual edible sales and constraints on packaging — both governed by federal law and also areas in which U.S. states have a more liberalized approach.
“You can have a big Budweiser display but in our stores, all you can talk about is how much THC there is in a product and how much it costs — it doesn’t make for a very healthy industry.”Article contentNearly three years of recreational legalization has dispelled critics’ worst fears of its societal effects and the industry should be rewarded for operating responsibly, said both men.Ottawa should also loosen product excise stamp restrictions that prevent interprovincial trade, he said.
Ben Deere is seen smoking in the cannabis consumption area during the 40th Annual Calgary Folk Music Festival at Prince’s Island Park on Thursday, July 25, 2019.The industry now contributes at least $16.5 billion to Canada’s annual GDP, said Mison, and should be recognized within an economic framework that allows its expertise to become another of the country’s exports.