Cannabis Expo rolls into Ottawa
Now that recreational pot is legal, organizers of the second-annual Cannabis & Hemp Expo at the Shaw Centre this weekend expect to see a jump in visitors.
“I think we’ll see more people through the door,” said show director Kevin Blackburn. “Cannabis has been in the spotlight for a few months now and there’s a lot of positivity around the sector.”
He said nearly 6,000 people attended the first cannabis trade show his company Canwest Productions staged here last year. Ottawa is a government town, and some people may have been hesitant to check out the exhibits and seminars last year, he said. While medical cannabis has been allowed in Canada since 2001, recreational pot only became legal on Oct. 17.
The expo is a chance to do everything from buy some rolling papers to hear investment tips about the burgeoning industry.
“It’s an opportunity for cannabis consumers and those curious about the industry to learn about new products, find out about companies they may want to invest in, and hang out with like-minded people all under one roof,” says the company.
The fair will feature about 50 exhibitors selling everything from bongs to growing gear, cannabis recipe books and video surveillance systems.
Seminars during the event will include advice on trends in vaporizers, the future for the industry, the basics of home growing and medical uses of cannabis.
This year a kitchen is being built to allow more demonstrations on how to cook with cannabis, said Blackburn. There will also be a glass-blowing demonstration.
Only legal businesses and products are allowed to be part of the exhibit, said Blackburn. For example, there will be no exhibits from illegal mail-order weed companies, dispensaries, edible cannabis producers and seed sellers.
Dried cannabis flower, oils and seeds are now legal, but only if bought from government-approved sellers, who obtain their products from growers licensed by Health Canada. Edible cannabis products and vape pens aren’t legal yet.
“Part of getting rid of the stigma of cannabis is to operate legally and that’s what we want to do,” said Blackburn. “Anybody operating in the grey market or illegally will not be in the show.”
There is also a daylong industry conference on Friday featuring keynote speaker Chuck Rifici, CEO of Auxly Cannabis Group, and officials from several other major cannabis companies, including Indivia, Hexo and MedReleaf. It costs $99.
The Ontario government will start distributing millions of dollars in January to help municipalities cover costs associated with legalizing recreational cannabis.
In a letter to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli said $15 million will first be split among the province’s municipalities at the start of the new year, with funding allocated on a per-household basis and all communities receiving at least $5,000.
An additional $15 million will then go to municipalities that agree to host cannabis retail stores within their boundaries.
The Progressive Conservative government has given communities until Jan. 22 to decide whether they want to opt out of hosting the stores, which are expected to start operating in April.
Fedeli said the province will set aside an additional $10 million as a contingency fund to deal with any “unforeseen circumstances” related to marijuana legalization that municipalities might encounter.
He said the funds for municipalities can only be used for a prescribed set of circumstances, including heightened enforcement, increased response to public inquiries, increased paramedic or fire services and bylaw or policy development.
“Our government is committed to respecting taxpayers and their hard-earned money,” Fedeli said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press. “We believe municipalities have an obligation to do likewise.”
Fedeli also said that if Ontario’s portion of the federal excise tax on recreational marijuana exceeds $100 million, the province will give half of the surplus to municipalities that have not opted out of hosting stores.
The federal government legalized recreational cannabis on Oct. 17. In Ontario, a government-run online store is currently the only way to legally purchase recreational pot.
Our government is committed to respecting taxpayers and their hardearned money.