Future of the industry discussed at college’s hemp and cannabis conference

All five, were also involved in a panel at the end.

Ryan Jackson, general manager of Canadian operations for Folium Biosciences, says that it’s important to be part of these events to help educate the public.

“Dispelling myth probably as much as it is speaking the truth. Because it can’t you seem do both at the same time. And just building awareness and helping people understand,” he said.

Another focus of the conference is what the future of the industries looks like.

When cannabis became legal in Canada, investors couldn’t sign cheques fast enough to be part of the industry.

Now a year late, many of those companies aren’t doing very well.

Jackson called it a ‘gold rush.’

“Initially the market, it was very easy to invest in a cannabis company and make money on the stock market. So I think that kind of was pervasive in the industry. And it led to a lot of people thinking well if so and so can do it, why can’t I? And they may be right but there were a lot of failures,” he said.

One of the companies feeling the pain is Aurora Cannabis.

With its recreational weed down 33 per cent from their last quarter, they decided to slow the construction of their Medicine Hat facility.

For Jeff Kostuik, the director of operations, Central Canada, US, & International for Hemp Genetics International, he says that the Aurora situation is an example of what the whole industry is feeling.

“There’s going to be setbacks. And that’s what I’m talking about, it’s the peaks and the valleys that we have that are just too prominent in the industry right now. And we need to get those to meet so we have nice gently rolling hills at the most,” he chuckled. “Market fluctuation like’s any other crop but we can’t have production go way over the top and then completely crash. It’s continuously going to be a challenge in an emerging market.”

Brent Alexander, a technical advisor for Natural Health Alliance, says a major reason for those companies’ troubles is the lack of stores across the country.

Right now Alberta has almost one-third of all cannabis stores in Canada.

While Ontario, the largest province with over 13 million people, has just 24.

“I think it’s a concern because there’s nowhere to actually get rid of the cannabis that’s being grown. I mean we’re able to grow tons and tons of it. But if there’s no store to actually vector it to the final market then it’s not going to really succeed,” he said.

Alexander, who also teaches the college’s Seed to Harvest class on cannabis, is hopeful that once edibles are legalized, it will help move product, with more needed when it’s cooked down.

Even then, Alexander is worried about the stigma surrounding cannabis and hemp still.

“A lot of people don’t even want to go into the legal dispensaries to purchase the product because they are afraid to be seen in there. When at the same time they might be able to even really benefit from this product. Especially if they’re just going in for CBD. Some people are still a little bit nervous to be seen doing that.”

Jackson and Kostuik, who are both on the hemp side, say that effects there businesses despite hemp being different from marijuana.

“Initially we want to sort of keep those separate. Now there’s a little bit of a blurring of the lines. And it’s important for consumers to understand which plant is which and how everything is affected,” said Kostuik.

For those hoping to learn more about hemp and cannabis, the college has launched two new courses in Cannabis Legislation and Quality Assurance and Seed to Harvest as part of their department of continuing studies.

by Hayley Ferguson

Future of the industry discussed at college’s hemp and cannabis conference

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