The arrival of legal cannabis edibles, vapes and other products in Ontario won't necessarily meet the government's stated goal of cutting into the black market, according to industry observers.
The Ontario Cannabis Store, the province's pot distributor, has announced that a raft of new products is slated to start appearing in brick-and-mortar retailers on Monday and be available for online purchase 10 days later.
Edibles and comparable cannabis products became legal across the country in October, marking the second wave of the federal government's legalization scheme launched the year before, but Monday will mark the first time such products are available for government-sanctioned purchase in Ontario.The OCS said 59 new products, including a variety of vapes, edibles and a tea, will hit store shelves on Monday and be available for sale online effective Jan. 16.
Khan said federal health regulations that limit the amount of cannabis contained in legal products will pose a likely barrier. But Khan said a more formidable barrier comes from the way Ontario's cannabis market has evolved, with the OCS acting as both an online retailer and wholesaler of all cannabis products.
For its part, the OCS argues that its new slate of products can cut into black market sales. Edibles will cost between $7 and $14, beverages are priced at between $4 and $10, vape products will sell for between $25 and $125, topicals will be available for between $15 and $55, and concentrates are expected to sell for between $30 and $70.
Numbers he calculated after the first six months of legalization suggested Ontario implemented a 70 per cent markup on goods available at the time. That figure, while shy of the 90 per cent markup seen in Newfoundland, was also well above rates set in other provinces such as Quebec and New Brunswick.
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New cannabis products may not eat into black market, experts sayThe Ontario Cannabis Store, the province’s pot distributor, has announced that a raft of new products is slated to start appearing in brick-and-mortar retailers on Monday and be available for online purchase 10 days later
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