Cannabis stores across Manitoba are awaiting stock now that edible products are legal.
Stores like Delta 9, Tokyo Smoke, and Meta Cannabis Supply Co. are expecting products on the shelves as early as Wednesday and by the end of the week.
Other retailers, like Garden Variety and Tweed, are expecting the products by next week.
Delta 9 Cannabis CEO Josh Arbuthnot says this new wave of legalization will bring a range of new products.
“People should expect to see products like gummies, or soft chews, chocolates, mint candies, on the edibles side, it’s things like drinkable products,” he said.
“There was very limited options out of the gate for legalization…. With all of these new products on the shelves it gives them the chance to try one of these products where perhaps they would have not previously.”
Arbuthnot says the prices are fairly competitive with the black market so he thinks this will take another bite out of the underground cannabis competition.
“To me the introduction of the cannabis 2.0 products puts another tool in the toolbelt for these legal cannabis retailers and businesses to be providing better value to the end consumer.”
Dr. Joss Reimer, medical director of population and public health for the WRHA, says there are some things people need to be aware of if they’re trying the new products for the first time, like how long it could take for the drug to take effect.
“People will sometimes experience something where it takes 30 minutes, an hour or two hours before they start to feel anything so they think it’s not working and they take a second dose. By the time it starts working, they’re experiencing way too much effect and can have some very unpleasant experiences,” she said.
Reimer says people who may not have wanted to try smoking or vaping cannabis may be more inclined to try cannabis edibles, but she says to start slow.
“Start with a really low dose, like two to three milligrams is enough to start the first time, and stop there regardless if you’re feeling anything. You don’t know if in three hours you’re going to start to feel things.”
Her biggest concern with edibles now being legal is the risk of children mistaking the products as safe for them.
“If it’s outside of the package, there’s no way for a child to know there’s THC in it. That’s the most worrisome thing about it. If you have edibles at home, keep them locked up where children can’t get access.”
Reimer says if someone thinks they’re having an overdose, they can call poison control for more information: 1-855-7POISON (1-855-776-4766).
In Manitoba, you can gift cannabis to someone else who is at least 19 years old and you can’t carry more than 30 grams of dried cannabis or the equivalent in public.