Canada remains one of the only countries in the world that allows legal and regulated access to recreational marijuana. But five years after the drug's legalisation, the country's cannabis industry is struggling for survival.
Still, it was an exciting time, Mr Smitherman recalls. Canada's long-anticipated cannabis legalisation had just become a reality. Investment was flowing into a brand new market that many thought would get them rich. "The thing is, there was no global road map," he told the BBC, as no other country had attempted to legalise recreational cannabis on such a large scale.
"One way to sum it up would be to say we've kind of had a classic boom and bust," Prof Armstrong said. Retail locations have tinted windows to conceal what is inside, and the drug is sold in government-approved packaging. They also pay higher regulatory fees than companies selling other controlled substances.
Consumers of cannabis edibles, for example, are able to go online and find products with a potency higher than the legal amount, Mr Smitherman said.