The sale of cannabis has been legal across Canada for almost a year, but Thursday will mark the first time that edibles, extracts and topicals will also be legal to sell.
Despite this, the City of Calgary says it will take time before consumers will see these products on store shelves locally.
“Federally licensed producers must first get approval from Health Canada to produce the products,” a Tuesday news release explained.
In addition, federal cannabis licence holders must provide 60 days notice to Health Canada of their intent to sell the new product.
As such, the city doesn’t expect Calgarians will see any edibles, extracts or topicals for sale in Calgary until mid-December 2019 — Dec. 17 at the earliest.
These products will be available at licensed cannabis retail stores or online through AlbertaCannabis.org.
Taylor Ethans, co-founder of Calgary-based Westleaf Inc., told Global News his company is excited about the second step of legalization taking place.
“It really opens up another customer base,” Ethans explained. “A lot of consumers in the market today do not want to have the combustible flower in which they inhale and smoke, whereas the edibles or the beverages or topicals provide another way for consumers to be able to get the benefits of the cannabis and the cannabinoids (THC and CBD, etc.) without having to actually smoke or inhale the product.”
City of Calgary spokesperson Matt Zabloski said Calgary’s cannabis regulations are based on many variables, including feedback that Calgarians gave in 2017 and 2018.
“Overall, Calgary’s Cannabis Consumption Bylaw has worked well in the first year of legalization,” Zabloski said. “Nine festivals and events applied to have designated cannabis consumption areas over the summer, and the feedback received was generally quite positive.”
For more information on Calgary’s cannabis regulations, visit the City of Calgary’s website.
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