Marijuana producers preparing for legalization
Consolidation of companies expected to play big role in industry’s development
Some of the country’s top names in the cannabis industry are in Calgary this weekend for CannabisCon to discuss what comes next once recreational sales are legalized later this year.
“It’s not often there is an industry that comes to be overnight, and basically, that what’s happening with cannabis,” said conference chairman Howard Silver. “Not only is there interest from the business community, but also the general consumer as well.”
Hundreds of stakeholders, investors and business owners gathered at the Telus Convention Centre on Friday for the event’s business day to find out how they can get involved with Canada’s budding cannabis industry.
Devon Davidson, a Calgarian looking to break into the cannabis market, said “the sky’s the limit” for cannabis businesses, and the convention is a chance for companies to network and rub elbows with big names in the industry.
“It’s a great place to come down and see what everybody else is doing and check out the different exhibitors and seminars,” he said.
Cam Battley, CEO of Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis, said there is still room in the market for upstart businesses and investors looking to cash in, but he believes consolidation will play a big part in how the industry develops, as larger companies purchase smaller operations.
“It’s not a horse race, there won’t be one winner,” he said. “There will be different winners with distinct business strategies. We’re very confident in our own because our business strategy is clearly differ- entiated from our peers.”
Aurora is one of the country’s largest medical cannabis producers and recently received approval to acquire competitor CanniMed Therapeutics.
Battley likened the consolidation of smaller cannabis companies to how larger breweries and craft beer companies compete, saying the recreational cannabis sector could look “similar in scale” to the market for alcohol.
Ontario-based Newstrike Resources, the parent company of UP Cannabis, was in consolidation talks with Aurora earlier this year. Jay Wilgar, Newstrike’s CEO and director, said focusing on recreational cannabis helps set the company apart from competitors.
“We see it as a very different market ... in that we are only concerned with creating brands, and I think that is quite different than what you are seeing from a lot of other companies,” he said.
Only combustible buds will be approved for recreational sale and use when cannabis becomes legal later this year. But by 2019, edible and ingestible cannabis products — like infused brownies, candies and beverages — will be included under recreational sales.
Both Wilgar and Battley said the government should move faster to approve and regulate ingestibles if it wants to cut down on the black market, where these products are readily available and in high demand.
“All of the things that we can be allowed to do in the legal cannabis sector to compete effectively with the black market … supports the public policy objective of reducing the illegal market and reducing youth access, which is really important to all of us.”
CannabisCon runs again Saturday with a consumer job fair and trade show from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Advance tickets are available online at www. cannabiscanadaforums.com.
There will be different winners with distinct business strategies.