Today, cannabis becomes legal in Canada, making it the second country in the world to create a legal recreational cannabis market.
Fulfilling a campaign promise, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government have legalized cannabis for adults in Canada. Consumers and businesses in the country have been counting down to October 17th and the official launch of legal cannabis.
Medical Marijuana, Inc. has taken steps to bring our award-winning brands, including Dixie Botanicals® Canada and Real Scientific®, to the Canadian marketplace by partnering with Salvation Botanicals®, who will formulate and test our products in the country.
Potential Market Opportunity
The legal cannabis market in Canada presents an immense opportunity to companies that take advantage of it. Consumers are expected to spend more on cannabis and purchase more often than they did before legalization.
“The total cannabis market in Canada, including medical and illegal as well as legal recreational products, is expected to generate up to $7.17 billion in total sales in 2019. Legal sales are expected to contribute more than half of this total—up to $4.34 billion—in the first year,” according to a Deloitte report.
The Cannabis Act
The legalization of cannabis in Canada comes courtesy of the Cannabis Act. Passed in June of 2018, the full title of the act, also known as Bill C-45, is An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts. When combined with Bill C-46, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code, the Cannabis Act legalizes adult use of cannabis nationwide in Canada.
The Cannabis Act allows for national use of cannabis products by individuals 18 and over and possession of up to 30 grams of dried cannabis flower or its equivalent weight in products like capsules and oils. Legal cannabis sales will take place at authorized retail outlets or through the mail.
Individual provinces and territories have the ability to further restrict possession, sale, and use in their locales and are responsible for setting up a system for retail sales in their jurisdictions. Mail delivery of cannabis products is also available in some regions and will be managed by the federal government.
Also varying by location is where users can consume cannabis. Many provinces and territories allow cannabis consumption in private property and residences only. Other locations allow use of cannabis wherever tobacco use is allowed, including at home and outdoors in public with some restrictions.
For the time being, cannabis products are limited to dried cannabis flower and consumable cannabis oil. The government plans to allow concentrates and edibles to follow within the first year.
A Maturing Industry
As the cannabis industry is legitimized in Canada and becomes more professional, consumers can expect safer and more consistent products from experienced labs and manufacturers.
Cannabis laws in the country are also expected to change as the industry grows. Within the first year, the Canadian government plans to add cannabis edibles and vapes to authorized products. According to recent reports, consumers in Canada are strongly awaiting the introduction of edibles products.
The cannabis industry in Canada is also expected to take advantage of innovation tied to the cannabis plant, including new extraction methods, new product types, and higher bioavailability of cannabinoids.
Medical Marijuana, Inc.’s Role in Canada
To bring our Real Scientific® and Dixie Botanicals® brands to Canada, Medical Marijuana, Inc. has partnered with Canadian-based Salvation Botanicals.
Incorporated in 2011, the Salvation Botanicals operates one of the first fully licensed Analytics Laboratories in Canada. The company is also approved as a contract extract producer, with authority to extract and produce oil, capsules, and tinctures within Health Canada guidelines.
Salvation Botanicals will extract, formulate, and test all of our Canadian products for distribution across the Canadian market.
You can learn more about this partnership with Salvation Botanicals here.
Find More About Our Efforts in Canada
Visit our company news feed to read more about Medical Marijuana, Inc.’s expansion into the Canadian market and other recent developments from our family of companies. For more on cannabis itself, explore our cannabis basics page.
