No shortage of applicants for cannabis production
Health Canada officials say there are currently 132 licensed producers of cannabis for medical and non-medical purposes in Canada, including three from Nova Scotia, all on the mainland.
Licensed products include dried or fresh cannabis, cannabis oil, starting materials and plants.
“We’re only allowed to share what they want us to share so it might not tell you where they are from in Nova Scotia,” said an official who asked just to be addressed as a spokesperson for the department.
Although the website the lists the producers as being medical marijuana companies, the spokesperson said the website information simply has yet to be updated.
“Until Oct. 17, people were not allowed to apply for a recreational licence, as it wasn’t legal.”
However, the numbers of producers may spike — soon.
As of Oct. 12, there were applications for 600 licences awaiting approval. Health Canada could not reveal how many are from Nova Scotia.
“We are not allowed to say that, that is confidential business information,” said the
spokesperson.
“Until applications have been approved we can (only) talk about them generally. Details of what they applied for, where they are from and what they will be able to offer, that information will not be available until the licences have been granted.”
Only information producers want made public is revealed on the website. Some offer their website addresses.
A full list of current producers can be access on the Health Canada website.
Health Canada only issues licences once it has been determined that all information submitted by a company is in compliance with the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes regulations and the facility has been built.
Meanwhile, Beverley Ware, spokesperson for Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, said sales continue to be strong at their cannabis store in Sydney River. Whether a second NSLC store in Cape Breton is being considered for cannabis products is not yet known.
The Sydney River store had the second-highest cannabis transactions in the province the first day cannabis was legalized Oct. 17 and the highest sales on the second day.
“We are in the very early days of this new industry, so we can’t yet gauge what consistent demand will be. Once we are fully up and running we will have a chance to evaluate and consider adjustments to our operations.”
In the meantime, job sites specializing in cannabis positions are popping up online including Careers Cannabis, advertising to connect job seekers with employment opportunities in the cannabis industry now available in Canada. Their website www.careerscannabis.com includes a posting for a production specialist for Breathing Green solutions in Wentworth, Nova Scotia.
Another website, https:// www.cannabisatwork.com,offers job searches in the field, recruitment and online training.