Illegal BC Cannabis Producers Pushed to Go Legit
The provincial government is pushing for all illegal BC cannabis producers to go legit. But many craft growers in that province are feeling left behind.
BC is helping illegal BC cannabis producers in the Central Kootenay region through a number of approaches including a pilot project and business supports. Those supports including helping them navigate the Health Canada licensing process, marketing development, and security licences.
“It’s still very much a work in progress three years in,” said BC Solicitor General Mike Farnworth. “We’re trying to work with the industry (and) identify some of the challenges we can deal with.”
Abra Brynne of the Kootenay Cannabis Economic Development Council said the organization helps illegal BC cannabis producers take advantage of legalization. So far, it has provided supports for 53 cannabis businesses through Health Canada’s licensing process. Thirteen organizations received licences with the Council’s help.
But there’s still “a heck of a long way for things to go,” she said. “We still have this weird culture of prohibition.”
Red Tape Still Hinders Illegal BC Cannabis Producers and Craft Cannabis – LPC
That “culture of prohibition” extends to the licensing process, it seems. Many including ex-Fire and Flower executive Nathan Mison have called on the government to loosen cannabis rules. Some rules seem reasonable, including banning packaging that looks too much like candy. But other rules, such as not allowing Seth Rogen to promote his own cannabis brand Houseplant might go too far.
But the real effect on the ground in BC is the sheer amount of time it takes to get a Health Canada licence. Todd Veri, president of the Kootenay Outdoor Producer Co-Op, said many craft cannabis growers have a hard time launching their businesses because of it.
“The time it took, the costs were to be expected,” he said, “but the cost of delays has killed us.”
Veri said it took him five years to get his Health Canada licence. He didn’t sell his first crop of cannabis until December 2021. Veri said any help illegal BC cannabis producers received from the province came at the expense of craft cannabis producers.
“There was no help for people actually looking to employ people in this province… because BC decided to get behind the black market producers and I think they backed the wrong horse,” he said.
Health Canada made changes to its licensing process in May 2019 to cut wait times. However, smaller producers including craft growers – and illegal BC cannabis producers trying to go legit – still have many hoops and hurdles to overcome.
There are some positives though – there are signs that the legal market is making gains. Monthly legal sales in BC continue to rise, from $1.2 million in December 2018 to $18 million in December 2019 to $48 million in December 2020. That is similar to other parts of the country. The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) announced that legal cannabis sales in Ontario surpassed illegal ones for the first time in 2021.
There are no easy answers. Health Canada has always said that health and safety around cannabis is its number one concern – and rightly so. But if it takes years for a company to get a licence, how long will illegal BC cananbis producers hold out?
Read the Full CBC News Story Here
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