How Canada can Help American Cannabis

The reverberations of last month’s election are still being felt across the world, and it looks like Canada could come out a winner after the landmark cannabis win.

California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada approved recreational cannabis; while Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota voted in favor of allowing patients access to medical cannabis. While shipping Canadian cannabis into the United States is still illegal, Privateer Holdings CEO expects Canada to partner with their neighbor to the south in a big way.

“I think you’ll see Canadian companies jump at the opportunity to expand their operations and brands into the United States,” says Brendan Kennedy, whose firm owns Nanaimo, B.C.-based licensed producer Tilray.

Canadians aren’t simply thinking of cannabis cultivation; they could play a large role in the future of American cannabis through consulting services, equipment manufacturing and other logistical areas.

“There are huge opportunities for Canadian companies, because Canada has the most robust and tightly regulated medical cannabis framework in the world,” Kennedy continued. “Both governments and companies around the world are looking to Canada to provide leadership and expertise in this industry.”

A Cannabist report estimates that revenue from the California cannabis market could reach $6.5 billion by 2020. Additionally, the Arcview Group conducted research that projects the United States will reach $20 billion in sales by the same year.

By federally regulating cannabis, in lieu of state by state legalization, Canada has been able to perfect large scale cannabis cultivation and distribution, according to Cam Battley, executive vice-president of Alberta-based licensed producer Aurora Cannabis Inc.

“We do have a lot of expertise, and we’ve learned, collectively as a sector, a lot of really important lessons about cultivation and consistent production,” says Battley.

Aurora Cannabis recently started construction on an 800,000 square-foot greenhouse capable of producing 100,000 kilograms of cannabis annually. The facility, which is the size of 16 football fields, is expected to be completed by October 2017.