A panel of cannabis insiders held court at the Coast Capri Hotel in Kelowna on Tuesday.
Hosted by the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, The Business of Cannabis 2.0 offered a follow-up look to The Business of Cannabis 1.0 event hosted one year ago.
Nine months after #legalization in Canada, we're back with a fresh look at the Business of Cannabis 2.0 - Tues., Jun 25 over lunch at the Coast Capri. Our expert panel is ready to talk manufacturing, finance, retail etc. Get your tix now: https://t.co/jTovnYvYgg #KelownaEvents pic.twitter.com/fLyfOTljCy
— Kelowna Chamber of Commerce (@KelownaChamber) May 14, 2019
However, nine-months after legalization, there still appears to be more questions than answers when it comes to Canada’s cannabis industry.
“It’s like building the aircraft while you’re flying the plane,” explained former mayor of Kamloops and current Vice President of HEXO Corp, Dr. Terry Lake.
“But it’s going relatively well all things considered.”
Restrictions on marketing and advertising continue to be a hot topic as the cannabis industry grapples with vague regulations.
Daniel Winer, the Director of Marketing for retail cannabis company Starbuds, spared the crowd his full “retail rant” but did touch on some major points of contention.
“It’s similar to walking down the aisle in the grocery store and every product is in blank, non-descriptive packaging,” said Winer.
“Retailers aren't allowed to say if a product will help with sleep for example, anything outside of a sativa or indicia label is off limits.”
Also Joining the panel was reformed politician Dr. Lyle Oberg, who serves as the Chief Policy & Medical Officer for Flowr Corporation in the Okanagan.
Fellow Kelowna-based business Valens was represented by Chief Operating Officer Chantel Popoff, who touted cannabis industry employment opportunities for graduates.
"We have new employees who a decade ago would never have thought they would be using their engineering degree on cannabis extracting technology," explained Popoff.
With so many questions still remaining, the introduction of edibles, topicals and concentrates this December will continue to cause growing pains.
However, both former politicians on the panel didn't see this fall's election as being a catalyst for abrupt change to Canada's cannabis industry.
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