By Jon Hiltz
The cannabis industry in Toronto these days can feel a lot like riding Space Mountain. The twists and turns are sudden; you’re mostly kept in the dark and, when the sun rises the following morning, you can’t believe how much the trip ended up costing.
Case and point from last Thursday when Toronto Police raided 45 dispensaries and laid 90 charges to unsuspecting owners and staff of clinics across the GTA, in one of the largest raids in Canadian history. Talk amongst the dispensaries and other insiders was that the licensed producers across the country were pushing for something to be done, an accusation that some of the LP’s said was not the full truth.
Nevertheless the day after the raids, the dust settled a little bit, the smell of bacon left the streets and Canada’s largest cannabis trade show the Lift Cannabis Expo, opened its doors and brought this strange drama full circle.
The Lift Cannabis Expo is quite frankly the best example of how far marijuana has come over the last several years. Not even a decade ago the thought of pot being sold in stores or anywhere for that matter, was a total pipe dream. Now, row upon row of exhibitor booths packed themselves throughout Hall A of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, and they included cutting edge hydroponics companies, glass makers, vape lounges, marijuana producers and yes, dispensary owners as well. But instead of the “Hatfield’s and McCoy’s” going at it as one would expect, the enthusiastic business atmosphere created a space for much needed open dialogue about the week’s events.
David Brown, Lift Communications Director, explains the event: “Lift is an online communications platform, built to help educate Canadians about their options for medical cannabis in Canada.”
It’s also important to note that Lift is an independent body and not funded by cannabis producers or anyone else who may have a specific agenda in mind. “Our goal [with the Expo]was to educate Canadians and celebrate the diverse and evolving cannabis industry. The Expo really allowed us to show people that [cannabis]is a much bigger subject than just the traditional marijuana culture.”
And educate it did. The vast crowds that meandered through the laundry list of sponsored booths were looking for information on subjects as diverse as correct lighting for grow ops, how to obtain an MMJ card, what the current legal status of marijuana in Canada is and a host of other queries.
As diverse and popular as the show was, there was no escape from the discussions about the raids — speculation as to who was behind them and what will happen on the Toronto cannabis landscape moving forward. Brown also gave his personal views on the subject. “Even if you feel like there is a needed conversation in terms of regulating and controlling the proliferation of cannabis, I think it’s really unfortunate that [authorities]took such an aggressive approach after beginning to have a discussion about dealing with it through regulatory measures.”
The “aggressive approach” that Brown is referring to did create a rather interesting vibe throughout the expo which could be described as an odd combination of excitement and anger. “I think that there are some ongoing tensions as licensed producers push a bit against dispensaries and dispensaries push a bit against licensed producers, but ultimately people saw that there is a lot more common ground than there are differences.” Brown also noted that at the end of the day both parties provide access to cannabis and despite the debate, access is what patients want.
Lift was by all accounts a success and Brown and the team are quite proud of the expo and its achievements this year. “For me, I think the show was a success because when I looked out into the crowd I saw a really good cross-section of all of Canada. There were traditional cannabis users there but there were also older Canadians, families with young kids, people seeking to get in the industry, there were doctors, patients and that makes me really happy.”
The expo had a number of business and corporate angles to it but didn’t forget to invite the celebrities of the cannabis industry who included Darren McCarty the four-time Stanley Cup Champion who is now in the MMJ world, activist and author Dana Larsen, and Marc and Jodie Emery who are unequivocally the most famous names in Canadian cannabis history aside from Tommy Chong.
Jodie Emery had this to say to Marijuana.com. “I was so impressed with the Lift Expo and felt that a lot of the negativity and concerns disappeared when we all managed to find common ground. It was very valuable for the licensed producers who were present to actually meet and interact with not only potential customers but also the advocates and experts who made medical marijuana legal in this country and who sacrificed greatly to make legalization a reality.”
Emery at the expo was, as per usual, very vocal and didn’t pull any punches during her on-stage presentation when she called shame on the licensed producers for helping enable law enforcement to do something about unlicensed dispensaries. “There is still strong anti-LP sentiment among many people who rightfully feel that there’s a push for an oligopoly on the distribution of marijuana [in Canada]. But it was valuable for licensed producers to hear those concerns and to realize that there is certainly enough room for everyone in this industry and the best way to make money is to please your customers and not to try and criminalize the competition.”
Now that the Lift Cannabis Expo has closed, and there’s nothing left at the Convention Centre to smoke, the debate continues in the streets, in the media, and in the halls of our government facilities.
Dispensaries that have been shut down are of course beginning to reopen, which is a true sign of the complete waste of time and money resulting from the raids. But maybe, just maybe as we all collectively vape across this great city of ours, we have more common ground now than ever before.
Congratulations to the Weedmaps crew on winning Best Booth.
