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Farm-to-gate cannabis

By Simon Gerard

I never thought I’d write that due to a global pandemic the B.C. government is giving a First Nations group $500,000 to help build a farm-to-gate cannabis facility where visitors can tour a legal grow-op and buy cannabis, similar to a winery. But here we are and it’s pretty awesome.

On Monday, the Williams Lake First Nation (formerly Williams Lake Indian Band) broke ground on the upcoming farm-to-gate facility called, Sugar Cane Cannabis. It will be located near the successful Indigenous Bloom retail shop, which they opened in March 2019. This will be the first farm-to-gate cannabis facility in B.C. and a first for a First Nations-owned cannabis producer.

Chief Willie Sellars shared details in a video presentation on the Williams Lake First Nation Facebook page, covering the facility’s state-of-the-art features and the benefits to their community. They went with a micro-cultivation licence, citing the ease of licencing and lower cost over a standard licence, along with no need for millions of square feet of grow space. It will be 6,000 sq. ft. total with 2,150 sq. ft. of canopy space to grow. This includes an on-site retail shop, where after personally meeting the plants you can purchase products made from them, like with many wineries and breweries around B.C.

“We want to make this cutting edge, we want to make this something that nobody has ever seen before, and we want to make it something that people are comfortable with coming around and exploring and experiencing,” says Chief Willie Sellars.

Sellars says the start-up cost is around $2 million to $2.5 million, resulting in an estimated annual net profit of between $1.5 million and $8 million and 10 to 20 permanent jobs. The provincial government provided $500,000 as part of $14 million in grants to support projects in First Nations and rural communities as a response to COVID-19. This grant program includes tourism initiatives most would expect, such as outdoor destinations like the Tumbler Ridge Unesco Global Geopark. Another $500,000 was provided, split between Indigenous Services Canada and Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT). The Williams Lake First Nation will provide the rest of the funding. Profits will go to support their community, through their Elders group, school, recreation, daycare programs, along with scholarships, bursaries, drug awareness and other social programs. 

I hope after the surprise of seeing the provincial government support this cannabis-related tourism project, we’ll start to see support for cannabis tourism increase across the province and country. Sugar Cane Cannabis is expected to open in 12 to 14 months, hopefully in time for a summer road trip next year.

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Cannabis has trust issues

By David Wylie

When it comes to weights and measures, the legal cannabis industry has some work to do to earn consumer trust.

Licensed producers are required to test and label THC and CBD percentages/amounts on their flower, vapes, edibles, oils, beverages – basically every product they release into the marketplace.

But just how accurate those percentage are has been questioned.

Like any other product, cannabis has been subject to recalls. In April, lots of San Rafael ’71's Island Sweet Skunk dried cannabis were recalled because the amount of THC indicated on the label was lower than the actual THC in the product. There have been similar recalls of drinks, gel caps, and pre-rolls.

Several B.C. retailers have repeatedly told the oz. that customers often seek out the highest percentage products at the cheapest price. 

That consumer trend has, in some instances, led to what's been dubbed "lab shopping" – LPs seeking out services from labs known to label with the highest THC percentage.

The GrowthOp reports that "it’s not uncommon for producers to send samples to various labs and partner with whichever lab sends back the highest score." 

Health Canada regulations do allow for a 10% variance on potency labels for dried flower, which is an enormous spread. It's even more pronounced with edibles that are able to give up to a 25% variance because the ingredients make potency even tougher to measure.

The jury is still out, anecdotally at least, on just how much the THC percentage can be used to gauge how cannabis will make you feel. Different strains have different dominant terpenes, which are evident in the smell and taste. They also have the potential to affect your high.

Potency isn't the only issue where LPs need to build consumer trust. Those spending their hard-earned money on cannabis are complaining about just how much they're regularly getting shorted.

Cannabis consumers have been getting more vocal about being "shorted" on weight, which appears to be a prevalent issue. It’s one that I’ve regularly encountered, consistently receiving eighths from many brands that are noticeably below the promised 3.5 grams.

A post on Reddit in r/theOCS – a subreddit for Ontario Cannabis Store consumers – asked a question a lot of people have been asking themselves: "Why are (low) weight variances permitted and why are they tolerated?"

"I paid for 21 grams of dried (some premium) flower this week. The first 3.5g container weighed 3.23g and the second was 3.31g. That 0.5 gram equates to about $6 so far. I haven't opened the other containers yet, but am expecting similar results. The same thing happened with my last purchase," said one user.

"Would you tolerate 22 or 23 bottles in that case of beer instead of 24? Or maybe that 1.14 litre bottle of Crown Royal may be only 0.98 litres this week."

The answer is often given that freshly packed cannabis dries out and loses weight over time. But if that’s common sense to growers, shouldn’t that be taken into account when packaging?

In frustration, numerous people have been wishing for a return to the legacy dispensary days, when bud was pulled from jars on the counter and weighed in front of the customer. Tight regulations from Health Canada make that a pipe dream.

Improvements are being made in certain markets. The OCS said in its first fiscal year report that the volume of complaints has decreased notably per units sold. Most complaints were related to dryness, underweight products and potency range.

"The OCS has worked with licensed producers to decrease the allowable THC potency range from a difference of 10% to 6% (although it will take several months for licensed producers to work through existing stock levels) and introduce a packaging date limit of three months for products delivered to the distribution centre," said the report.

It’s a start.

In the meantime, maybe those of us who get jars a little underweight should at least be thankful we haven't received empty jars, or jars packed with nuts and bolts, like some Canadian legal weed customers.
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Quick hits

👔‘A level playing field’
Government-operated BC Cannabis Stores have no advantage over private retailers, says a government spokeswoman.
 
🌱Nope to micro-grow
West Kelowna council will not pave the way for a micro-cultivation cannabis facility in the community.
 
👣Cannabis navigator
B.C. has launched a step-by-step guide for cannabis growers and processors working through the regulatory maze.
 
💥Shattered
The first legal shatter product in BC is now available – potent, full-spectrum shatter derived from OG Kush whole bud.

Shower thoughts

Putting dirty clothes on is so much more unbearable than keeping dirty clothes on.
 
There's an NPC in a game somewhere still waiting on you to finish that side quest you forgot about that would change their life.
 
If we invented immortality, people would probably have to go to school multiple times throughout their lives.

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