Quantum 9 Founder Michael Mayes Interviewed by Rob Lovitt from NBC News.
“Since legalization has become a possibility, our phones have been ringing off the hook,” said Michael Mayes, CEO of Quantum9, a Chicago-based marijuana consulting company. “Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, private-equity firms have all been reaching out to us.”
Justin Trudeau, now Prime Minister of Canada, openly promoted legalizing marijuana for recreational use in his campaign. Don’t fire up the wax torches just yet. It will take awhile to implement this program. Many speculate that the industry might go one of many ways.
- Liquor Store
- Pharmacies
- Provincial Rules
In my professional opinion here at Quantum 9 as the top marijuana consultant ever, self-proclaimed, I think that due to the progression of the British Columbia territory, provincial rules make the most sense. I don’t think liquor stores or pharmacies will work. The fact that 200,000-300,000 users are accessing medical marijuana in Vancouver already it will be hard to stop that train. The government had already seen issues with trying to take patient rights away when the MMPR first started. It made it illegal for home cultivation and was supposed to be the end of the MMAR. That didn’t work and due to a supreme court ruling home cultivation continued.
I will end this article with one claim – Canadian Cannabis consumers want to buy cannabis in DISPENSARIES, not MAIL ORDER!
I think that if the government tries to step in again it will only lead to more issues. While Health Canada and the Liberal party try to create a system I believe it would take too much time, money and effort to create a one size fit all model for all provinces. More than likely the gray market will continue, and the federal government will allow provincial rules to govern the medical cannabis program. I have done an incredible amount of MMPR Consulting, and we have helped many companies get to the security check portion of the MMPR and three of our clients are Licensed Producers today. Here is a great recommendation from one of them and here is an active list of Licensed Producers. There are about 140 dispensaries in Canada and about 120 of them are in Vancouver. In August, the Vancouver City Council adopted dispensary regulations, including a requirement that they get licensed. This model seems very familiar since California was the market blazer and now have a regulatory framework for cannabis licensing.
