4 ms·

Canada now has a huge head start in the West for business to develop legitimate markets that will have a strong hold for decades. I wonder how many U.S. busines

Canada now has a huge head start in the West for business to develop legitimate markets that will have a strong hold for decades. I wonder how many U.S. businesses will move because of this. We all know where the money will be.

dmix 8y ago
This is a great and underrated point. We were handed a huge economic advantage over the US and other western countries in terms of developing the talent and infrastructure to support weed sales. I know someone involved in the industry in Canada and they flew to Uruguay, the first country to legalise it, to learn from them and create connections. This role will be pioneered by Canada in many ways and it's much different than decriminalization. There's tons of money to be made long term, not just within Canada but exporting knowledge and systems. I have a feeling this will be influencing many parliaments and congresses around the world to look into doing the same and other partner countries won't be far away.
- sandworm101 8y ago
  >>...talent and infrastructure to support weed sales. It is a plant, a crop like any other. As a practical matter it is no more difficult than farming apples or corn. (It actually grows wild over much of Ontario.) The only specialized infrastructure is that dictated by regulation. Sure, Canada does have a jump on building out the regulatory infrastructure, but that isn't something we can sell. We aren't going to be exporting that infrastructure to other countries because they will have their own regulations demanding a different infrastructure. As for supporting weed sales, there are "experts" on selling pot in every country in the world. That skillset is well understood. UBC will not see a wave of foreign students looking to lean the mysteries of how to sell weed. We aren't going to see Canadians flying around the world establishing new markets and trade links. This stuff is already being grown in closets from Dubai to Alaska.
  - newest_user_ 8y ago
    It's no more difficult, but farming apples is not the same skill set as farming corn. Yes, many skills will transfer but the details need to be worked out. There are many questions that need answers before being successful -- especially on an industrial scale.
    - joveian 8y ago
      One thing Oregon has spent a ton of time dealing with is how to test pesticide levels, THC, and CBD. There are apparently technical issues that make testing difficult and it sounds like it is still needs improvement. Apparently heavy pesticide use is almost universal in growing marijuana and quite a bit remains in the final product. Developing better pesticides would be one thing a national legalization might help with.
  - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
    Most plants lie in a group that are harvested differently to other plants. Is it like tea, where different leaves provide different grades, or do flowers and leaves and stalks get separated? Presumably the more woody parts will go to hemp-like products (clothing, paper, beer, whatever!). The industry around that exists already but will presumably be developed ahead of other countries if demand makes for a lot of 'waste'. Presumably, modern farmer techniques like indoor vertical farming might produce better yields.
    - beat 8y ago
      The valuable part is the flower. Plants need to be carefully groomed (preferably in a closed environment) to sex them immediately and kill any males, to prevent seeding. (Seeds are a sign of poor quality control.) Stems, leaves, and trim are probably just composted, although I suppose leaves might be processed to extract oils. I recently visited Colorado on vacation, and got to visit a few legal dispensaries with my pothead companions (I'm not, but they are). It was a remarkable experience. Everything is totally focused on quality, and product differentiation for the marijuana itself was all about the best possible product with particular desirable characteristics. With few exceptions, price was a flat rate of $220/oz across the state. So maximizing yield is not nearly as important as maximizing quality. This is a connoisseur market. There was also a strong market for edible products (cookies, candies), oils, and other extracts. It's also mostly an indoor crop. When I was in Oak Creek, a tiny town in the mountains, my host pointed out four different "grow room" buildings, basically urban farming operations. It was interesting to talk about it with my host's fiance, a retired cop from Detroit (who is a part-time local cop there now). He thinks it's great, and marijuana laws in most states are just wasteful and stupid.
- JPKab 8y ago
  I live in Colorado. We've had fully legal weed for 4 years. Plus, our govt doesn't restrict sales to govt run stores. California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Maryland all beat Canada to this. Hilarious that you seem to be oblivious to this. BTW, California alone has a higher population than all of Canada.
ojbyrne 8y ago
There’s a pretty long standing industry in California for medical, and with the recent state legalization, recreational sales. More people and more affluence.
refurb 8y ago
California, where marijuana is now legal since last year, has a greater population than all of Canada. Related to that, each Canadian province has the ability to further regulate marijuana (within guidelines). Thus, there isn't one Canadian market, but a bunch of smaller markets.
- mikec3010 8y ago
  I wonder about climate too. CA has way better weather to grow almost anything as evidenced by it's agriculture industry. I would expect Canada's grow season to be much shorter. And obv weed grows well under grow lights, but that costs money so I would expect California to have major economic advantage.
  - beat 8y ago
    It's much easier to get quality control in a closed environment than outdoors. And legal marijuana is driven strongly by quality as a market force. Illegal marijuana, on the other hand, is more about volume than quality, particularly when you consider interdiction-based losses of entire crops or shipments. So outdoors makes a lot of sense.
- adsfasdfsad111 8y ago
  that's not really the most important factor though. It's about infrastructure, supply chains, and regulations.
- coding123 8y ago
  Except that it is illegal still depending on who you ask.
  - refurb 8y ago
    Hasn't seemed to stop investment in new companies yet!
toasterlovin 8y ago
A) Cannabis is already legal in a bunch of states and there are tons of US based start ups in that space already. B) Because cannabis is a controlled substance, Canadian companies will have no way to participate in local markets in other countries.
TheBeardKing 8y ago
By legitimate do you mean able to bank? Because that's the only real drawback I see in the legalized states. And it doesn't seem to be that big an issue worth losing your US consumer base over, since I assume no way in hell can they export to legal states.

dmix 8y ago

This is a great and underrated point. We were handed a huge economic advantage over the US and other western countries in terms of developing the talent and infrastructure to support weed sales. I know someone involved in the industry in Canada and they flew to Uruguay, the first country to legalise it, to learn from them and create connections. This role will be pioneered by Canada in many ways and it's much different than decriminalization. There's tons of money to be made long term, not just within Canada but exporting knowledge and systems. I have a feeling this will be influencing many parliaments and congresses around the world to look into doing the same and other partner countries won't be far away.

sandworm101 8y ago
>>...talent and infrastructure to support weed sales. It is a plant, a crop like any other. As a practical matter it is no more difficult than farming apples or corn. (It actually grows wild over much of Ontario.) The only specialized infrastructure is that dictated by regulation. Sure, Canada does have a jump on building out the regulatory infrastructure, but that isn't something we can sell. We aren't going to be exporting that infrastructure to other countries because they will have their own regulations demanding a different infrastructure. As for supporting weed sales, there are "experts" on selling pot in every country in the world. That skillset is well understood. UBC will not see a wave of foreign students looking to lean the mysteries of how to sell weed. We aren't going to see Canadians flying around the world establishing new markets and trade links. This stuff is already being grown in closets from Dubai to Alaska.
- newest_user_ 8y ago
  It's no more difficult, but farming apples is not the same skill set as farming corn. Yes, many skills will transfer but the details need to be worked out. There are many questions that need answers before being successful -- especially on an industrial scale.
  - joveian 8y ago
    One thing Oregon has spent a ton of time dealing with is how to test pesticide levels, THC, and CBD. There are apparently technical issues that make testing difficult and it sounds like it is still needs improvement. Apparently heavy pesticide use is almost universal in growing marijuana and quite a bit remains in the final product. Developing better pesticides would be one thing a national legalization might help with.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  Most plants lie in a group that are harvested differently to other plants. Is it like tea, where different leaves provide different grades, or do flowers and leaves and stalks get separated? Presumably the more woody parts will go to hemp-like products (clothing, paper, beer, whatever!). The industry around that exists already but will presumably be developed ahead of other countries if demand makes for a lot of 'waste'. Presumably, modern farmer techniques like indoor vertical farming might produce better yields.
  - beat 8y ago
    The valuable part is the flower. Plants need to be carefully groomed (preferably in a closed environment) to sex them immediately and kill any males, to prevent seeding. (Seeds are a sign of poor quality control.) Stems, leaves, and trim are probably just composted, although I suppose leaves might be processed to extract oils. I recently visited Colorado on vacation, and got to visit a few legal dispensaries with my pothead companions (I'm not, but they are). It was a remarkable experience. Everything is totally focused on quality, and product differentiation for the marijuana itself was all about the best possible product with particular desirable characteristics. With few exceptions, price was a flat rate of $220/oz across the state. So maximizing yield is not nearly as important as maximizing quality. This is a connoisseur market. There was also a strong market for edible products (cookies, candies), oils, and other extracts. It's also mostly an indoor crop. When I was in Oak Creek, a tiny town in the mountains, my host pointed out four different "grow room" buildings, basically urban farming operations. It was interesting to talk about it with my host's fiance, a retired cop from Detroit (who is a part-time local cop there now). He thinks it's great, and marijuana laws in most states are just wasteful and stupid.
JPKab 8y ago
I live in Colorado. We've had fully legal weed for 4 years. Plus, our govt doesn't restrict sales to govt run stores. California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Maryland all beat Canada to this. Hilarious that you seem to be oblivious to this. BTW, California alone has a higher population than all of Canada.

ojbyrne 8y ago

There’s a pretty long standing industry in California for medical, and with the recent state legalization, recreational sales. More people and more affluence.

refurb 8y ago

California, where marijuana is now legal since last year, has a greater population than all of Canada. Related to that, each Canadian province has the ability to further regulate marijuana (within guidelines). Thus, there isn't one Canadian market, but a bunch of smaller markets.

mikec3010 8y ago
I wonder about climate too. CA has way better weather to grow almost anything as evidenced by it's agriculture industry. I would expect Canada's grow season to be much shorter. And obv weed grows well under grow lights, but that costs money so I would expect California to have major economic advantage.
- beat 8y ago
  It's much easier to get quality control in a closed environment than outdoors. And legal marijuana is driven strongly by quality as a market force. Illegal marijuana, on the other hand, is more about volume than quality, particularly when you consider interdiction-based losses of entire crops or shipments. So outdoors makes a lot of sense.
adsfasdfsad111 8y ago
that's not really the most important factor though. It's about infrastructure, supply chains, and regulations.
coding123 8y ago
Except that it is illegal still depending on who you ask.
- refurb 8y ago
  Hasn't seemed to stop investment in new companies yet!

toasterlovin 8y ago

A) Cannabis is already legal in a bunch of states and there are tons of US based start ups in that space already. B) Because cannabis is a controlled substance, Canadian companies will have no way to participate in local markets in other countries.

TheBeardKing 8y ago

By legitimate do you mean able to bank? Because that's the only real drawback I see in the legalized states. And it doesn't seem to be that big an issue worth losing your US consumer base over, since I assume no way in hell can they export to legal states.