Cannabis edibles likely available in time for Christmas

Canadians could be opening a new gift under their Christmas trees this year that could literally give them a high.

The market for cannabis-infused products is expanding with the addition of edibles, drinks, extracts and topicals, which are tentatively set to be available at the Ontario Cannabis Store and licensed retailers no earlier than Dec. 17.

Just over a week before Santa Claus comes sliding down your chimney.

The Liberal government has set Oct. 17 – a year since pot legalization and four days before the federal election – as the date when all regulations for the production and sale of edible cannabis products, extracts and topicals will come into effect, Health Canada announced Friday.

Heath Canada is requiring federal licence holders to provide a 60-day notice of their intent to sell new products once the new regulations take effect, meaning consumers can start purchasing everyday items infused with cannabis as early as mid-December.

The OCS issued a product call for edibles, extracts and topicals last week, and the possibilities are endless: brownies, chocolates, teas, honey, olive oil, sunscreen, toothpaste, bath salts, and dog biscuits.

“What we’re preparing for, principally, are drinks, chocolates and vapourizing pens,” said Jordan Sinclair, vice president of communications and media for Canopy Growth, a global cannabis and hemp company based in Smiths Falls, Ont.

Sinclair said the market for smoked versus non-smoked products is close to evenly split. And with higher margins of profit for pot-infused products, companies like Canopy Growth are sparing no expense.

“The big one for us is cannabis-infused drinks,” Sinclair said, adding the company made a significant investment in a bottling plant across the street from their main building, which is currently under construction.

For Rae-Ann Gammon, who created and sells her own line of cannabis-infused products from her Toronto home, the regulations governing the amount of cannabis per product (10 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol) is very restrictive.

“People don’t want to eat 30 chocolates to get their medicine,” Gammon said, referring to people requiring higher doses of THC to alleviate their health issues. “They are not making it easy for people.”

She can see why the government is leaning toward food like brownies and staying away from candy-like products that could end up in the wrong hands.

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Health Canada is taking a cautious approach to regulate and restrict access to pot products so that the public’s health and safety is protected while keeping the latest products out of the hands of youth and curbing profits for organized crime.

Gammon, who says approximately 80% of her customers purchase brownies, understands not everyone is interested in consuming marijuana by smoking it.

“Firstly, I think that for people that don’t smoke anything, there is still a stigma attached to it,” she said. “And a second reason, I think edibles are more accessible, and less scary (to consume).”

She is looking to form a limited partnership to work towards being fully licensed in the cannabis industry.

“I’m confident things will get better. I’ve been waiting all my life for it,” Gammon said.

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