From wine country to weed country in B.C.
Credit to Author: Randy Shore| Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2020 21:43:13 +0000
A fresh wave of craft cannabis cultivators will bring exclusive and specialized strains of weed to the legal market, along with an appetite for cannabis tourism.
“We have 4,000 (grey market) growers on Vancouver Island alone, so we would like to see hundreds and hundreds of micro-cultivators licensed,” said Sarah Campbell, director of the Craft Cannabis Association of B.C. “Consumers are looking to support local producers where they will often find high-quality, unique products.”
Health Canada is currently reviewing 209 applications for cultivation, processing or sale sites in B.C. alone, and nearly 600 more in the rest of Canada. The federal government has already approved 73 such sites in the province.
Craft growers are keen to develop regional appellations like Okanagan or Similkameen Valley wineries. Indeed, regional favourites such as Texada Timewarp have long had a devoted following.
“We see a thriving craft cannabis industry complete with devoted shelf space in retail, certifications, farm-gate sales, cannabis events and tourism programs like the B.C. Ale Trail,” she said.
As farmers take up micro-cultivation of cannabis to supplement income from other crops, people will be interested in specialized local strains, growing techniques, and in knowing their grower. Farm tours are an inevitable extension of that relationship, she said.
“I think we’ll find that small-scale cannabis producers will help drive the growing trend toward sustainable agriculture, and cannabis tourism will provide much-needed economic support for our rural regions,” said Campbell.
A second-generation cannabis grower, Che LeBlanc of Rosebud Cannabis Farms already has 26 years of experience growing cannabis and an active application for a federal cultivation licence.
LeBlanc switched to outdoor production about 12 years ago as better genetics became available.
“I’ve been focused on living soil systems and cultivation techniques that gives us better quality, better shelf life, and better taste and smell for a fraction of the cost of indoor production,” he said.
LeBlanc is enthusiastic about the notion of hosting tourists on the farm, which is nestled in the picturesque central Kootenays.
“We are completely synthetic-free, we use predator bugs instead of pesticides, so it makes sense to us to bring people on site, show them a better way to farm and provide a quality product,” he said. “We would like to add a few cabins and a lodge for events, so tourism is a big part of our plan.”
The licensed medical cannabis growing area at Rosebud Cannabis Farms.
The ministry of public safety is less enthusiastic about cannabis tourism.
“We are aware that there may be cannabis-related opportunities in the agri-tourism sector, but we’re mindful that strict federal restrictions on promotion and marketing present challenges in this area,” the ministry said.
But the association is also pitching the notion of farm-gate sales for small producers to the province and may be making some headway with Solicitor-General and Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth.
“We know that there is interest in farm-to-gate sales and it is one of the options we are considering to support the development of a strong and sustainable cannabis production industry throughout B.C.” the ministry said.
However, the government is proceeding with caution on the idea of cannabis consumption spaces.
While Ontario has begun consultations on creating cannabis lounges, B.C. has little appetite to follow suit. No similar consultations are planned here, the ministry said.
“Licensing of designated cannabis consumption sites is a complex policy issue that would require careful consideration of several factors, including workplace health and safety requirements,” the ministry said.
The province is instead focused on helping small-scale growers enter the legal market, provided they have no links to “organized crime.”
Larger licensed producers will likely play a significant role in getting cannabis grown by micro-cultivators from farm to market, said Jesse McConnell, CEO of Rubicon Organics.
Micro-cultivation growing space is capped at 200 square metres (2,150 square feet), so it makes little sense for small operators to invest in testing analytics and climate-controlled processing and packaging facilities.
“The supply chain for cannabis is far more than growing the product, there are all sorts of regulations that ensure consumer safety that some into it,” he said. “I expect that a larger company would aggregate a large number of micro-producers … and provide some of those services as well as access to the provincial distribution system.”