The Canadian Government announced that recreational use of cannabis would no longer be against the Criminal Code as of October 17, 2018, to advance legalization of recreational cannabis in probably the massive market for weed seeds and other cannabis products.
As usual in the Canadian practice of federalism, the individual province has taken a distinctive procedure and some are more prepared than others. The government has long said there would be a buffer of eight to twelve weeks within the billโs reading and complete legalization to enable regions to get their schemes live and running to sell recreational marijuana from storefronts.
Supplies
Canadaโs big-three licensed growers, Aurora Cannabis, Aphria Inc., and Canopy Growth are collectively forecasting to grow more than 2.6 million pounds in lying facilities across the country after extensive expansion in capacity. Many others are in growth-mode, too, but development takes time along with growing plants, and the establishment and delivery of products.
Insufficient supply has been a concern for more than a year. Well-connected and financed cannabis corporations and companies lobbied to be the sole suppliers of medicinal cannabis but canโt meet the current demand, never mind the large stalk anticipated with the legalization.
Major players are exporting their products to Europe, where they can sell it for 20 Dollars per gram, four times what they get in the local market. That leaves medical cannabis users, on whom the industry was founded, out in the cold.
HEXO Corp., which produces cannabis for medical clients, reports that they have no shortage of cannabis products for medical consumers. They are committed to their medical clients to provide the same quality and supply theyโve been accustomed to delivering. They got products allocated for their existing medical customers and into the future.
The company is increasing its capacity from a regular 55,000 pounds a year under 310,000 square feet of production to 240,00 pounds across more than 1.3 -million square feet. The expansion is targeted to be finished by the end of the year.
The Demand
Estimating the demand for Cannabis after legalization is complicated. In 2016, Health Canada calculated about over a million pounds of cannabis would be needed, while independent research analysts estimated in 2017 that it would be more like half a million more than the previous estimates.
A Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce report published in May announced that the current production is nearly 800,00 pounds Per annum. The report shows almost behind the estimated value of Health Canada unless someoneโs out there is hiding about 200,000 pounds of cannabis, then they are looking at a substantial shortfall.
The demand for medicinal products including medical marijuana seeds is expected to shoot up. Analysts expert in research and development projected that there would be 630,000 registered medical cannabis patients in the country by 2024, more than twice from 260,000 in 2018. That will push the demand up from about 210,000 pounds in 2018 to 510,000 pounds in 2024, the market value projected to be worth up to 2.6 billion dollars in six years.
A report also shows that the majority of marijuana users have been purchasing their weeds in the black market and it is projected that it wonโt significantly change after the legalization. Black market sources will supply until the legal enterprise gets fully established. There are some pieces of evidence that even in the United States, the black market is still proliferating.
The Import/Export Dilemma
Health Canada prohibits licensed growers and producers from importing any cannabis for marketing purposes, but Canada based growers and producers are exporting. Many of the medical cannabis patients are complaining about this issue. Licensed Cannabis growers and producers are now expressing supply to European countries but have not signed binding contracts to provide with the local medical cannabis patients. Moreover, wondering for whom they were given this freedom to grow and sell medicine.
Along with cost escalations, medical cannabis users are convinced to get licensed to grow their own cannabis plant and buy girl scout cookies autoflower online. They still need to purchase in between harvests but have had to distribute what they grew weeks or months ago. Thus, licensed suppliers should be required to sign a binding contract to supply deals with their consumers.
The Monitoring System
Health Canada is starting a national tracking system to trace the movement of cannabis from growing to processing up to marketing. The tracking system may provide insights into supply and demand courses for both medical and recreational uses. The government should be obliged to ensure individuals who require cannabis for medical purposes have equitable access to legal and quality-controlled cannabis products.
The Government has been monitoring and evaluating patientsโ equitable access to cannabis for medical schemes after the implementation of the Cannabis Act. And, the government should design and organize a system for the application process for licensed cannabis suppliers to launch and ramp up production before the Bill. It has issued more licenses along with more than 160 expansions or adjustments of existing facilities.
The government is also amending its regulations so that patients will be able to inquire that their medical record is returned or transferred from one accredited producer to another.
The demand for cannabis after the legalization will be higher than broadly predicted, but thatโs not because more people are smoking pot. Most of the rise in demand is from the people who use cannabis on a daily basis, the report by the Marijuana Policy Group found that the proportion of people who smoke pot daily is higher than earlier estimates indicated. Regular users also consume more each time they use than occasional cannabis consumers.
Conclusion
The federal government was liable for the bill that legalized recreational marijuana by leveling essential features of the Criminal Code that guaranteed prohibition. The possible aspects of executing legalization have been dropped largely to the provinces and territories. Three big provinces, including Quebec, requested for a further schedule to put their trades management in position, making a distant runway for legalization significantly.
Is it true that thereโs a lack of supplies for medical cannabis in Canada? If so, will it significantly affect the marketโs inflation rate? I think the government needs to focus on home growth by encouraging more people to plant. It takes awareness, knowledge, and innovations to make a difference.