Adam Chammorry displays some of the edibles available at Queen of Bud in Calgary on Monday, Jan. 13, 2020.
The era of legal cannabis edibles has arrived in Calgary’s retail outlets.
Some dispensaries received their first shipments of pot-infused treats Monday from distributor Alberta Gaming Liquor Cannabis, bringing with them hopes of a renewed surge in business.
“I hope it brings more customers in who haven’t tried it,” said Mylann Doell, manager of the Queen of Bud at 1717 10th Ave. S.W.
The products, she said, have been heavily anticipated by customers.
“Edibles have been my No. 1 phone question since before Christmas. They’ve just been waiting for them to come out,” said Doell.
But there’s also an expectation of supply constraints similar to what plagued the availability of bud that prompted a six-month moratorium of new cannabis store approvals in Calgary, she said.
“There’s always going to be supply issues just because it’s such a new thing,” said Doell.
“I expect to see (them) sell out today or tomorrow.”
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But after two hours of business Monday, none of the products, which include chocolates, chewy candies, cookies and mints, had drawn any purchases, she said.
“People have just been buying dried flower,” said Doell.
Edibles, beverages, vapes and topicals are the second phase of legally available cannabis products to be rolled out across the country.
Retailers in many other provinces have already been selling them for a few weeks.
The Alberta government has decided to indefinitely delay the sale of cannabis vapes pending a review of their safety following reports of illnesses and deaths across North America related to them.
Edibles on display at Queen of Bud.
Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia
Cannabis retailer Karen Barry said she’s “cautiously optimistic” vape cartridges will be given the green light in Alberta in the coming weeks or months.
But for now, the owner of Beltline Cannabis Calgary at 806 12th Ave. S.W. said she’s eagerly awaiting her Wednesday shipment of edibles, for which she’s ordered milk and dark chocolate, chiller mints and chewable candies.
“We’ve had a great response … it’s a whole new cohort of people that would absolutely never smoke anything,” said Barry.
“We’ve been anxiously awaiting them.”
Neither Barry nor Doell said they’ve ordered THC-infused beverages, which haven’t been a big seller in U.S. states where they’ve been available for several years.
But Canadian licensed producers have crafted them and sold them to provincial wholesalers.
Critics of cannabis legalization fear many consumers will miscalculate the effects of the products and eat too many after their initial effect is delayed.
In a bid to mitigate that possibility, Health Canada has ruled each individually packaged edible can’t exceed a THC content of 10 milligrams.
Edibles, like other cannabis products, have been available on the black market for years but have no regulatory oversight.
on Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn
