What Is Canadian Cannabis Legalization 2.0?

Roughly a year ago Canada became the first G-7 nation to legalize cannabis for adult-use. Canada rolled out a regulated adult-use cannabis industry in a limited fashion last October. Canada’s model was built around cannabis flower sales, which will be changing soon.

In just a handful of weeks cannabis edibles, vape products, beverages, and other items will hit regulated cannabis store shelves in Canada. The delayed implementation is a result of Canadian lawmakers and regulators needing more time to come up with regulations for cannabis beyond just flower sales.

By mid-December, the new products will go on sale in Canada which is going to be a really big milestone for Canada’s cannabis industry. The historic launch is being dubbed ‘cannabis 2.0’ in media coverage around the globe. Cannabis 2.0 is expected to provide a significant boost to Canada’s economy. Per Financial Post:

The introduction of extracts is estimated to add an additional $2.7 billion to the cannabis market, according to Deloitte, but as producers add dozens of new products, retailers may already be facing a crunch in terms of how much of it they can actually carry.

Cannabis 2.0 will help address the ongoing issue of consumers continuing to purchase cannabis products from Canada’s unregulated market. Consumers want more options than just cannabis flower. The unregulated industry will never be eliminated in Canada, however, many consumers prefer to purchase cannabis from regulated sources as long as the prices are reasonable. Hopefully that proves to be the case in Canada.

Price points and shelf access are going to be two really big determining factors as to whether cannabis 2.0 is successful or misses the mark. If cannabis edibles and other new products are expensive and hard to find, it will obviously result in consumers continuing to turn to unregulated sources.