NICHE this Week: 5 Things You Need to Know

As you kick off the week, here are five things making news in the cannabis industry:

  • NICHE Blog: Back to Basics: Education is Key to Unlocking the Benefits of Legalization; It’s been three months since our country legalized recreational cannabis and many Canadians still have questions.  Perhaps it’s time we took a step back and once again focused on the naysayers and how to alleviate their concerns.  
     
  • ‘2019 will be the age of edibles. They are currently the forbidden fruit of the legal market, but many believe they are the real money-makers and the future of the industry.’ Our founder Barinder Rasode discusses the second wave of legalization and how edibles will make it remarkable.
     
  • Good news for Alberta – The Province says it will relax its two-month-long freeze on cannabis shop licences by adding 10 permits to the previous 65. As the Calgary Herald reports, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis is citing an improved cannabis supply climate as the reason for relaxing the freeze.
     
  • While Toronto and Hamilton did opt in to having cannabis stores, other large centres such as Mississauga and Markham were among the 77 municipalities that said no. As the CBC reports, the densely populated Ontario municipalities that have said no to cannabis stores are a “painful haircut” to retailers’ expectations, but some remain optimistic that some cities will give them the green light down the line.
     
  • Parents are changing the way they talk to their kids about cannabis post-legalization as it has become a more visible part of daily life across the country. As the National Post reports, talking to kids about cannabis shouldn’t be a one-time “talk” — it should be a continuous dialogue.