Well, I guess now is as good a time as ever to address the green elephant in the room. On October 17th, Cannabis will be legalized in Canada and it’s time we spoke about what that means. A not too dissimilar situation is occurring in Ohio. Although, it is only legal for an Ohio dispensary to provide marijuana for medicinal use. I like to think that over the years, with the help of our incredible Contributors and staff members, we’ve been able to dispel a lot of myths or preconceptions on some pretty controversial topics. Being that Cannabis is THE hot topic right now, I felt it important to address it as both a budding industry, coming to us coast-to-coast, but also as a conversation topic that we don’t need to be scared to talk about anymore. Some people have realized the health benefits of using cannabis substances such as CBD, and THC as well as trying their best to educate members of the public through places online as well as guides such as a guide to concentrates which looks at the different types of strains available and their effects and benefits. The age of vilified cannabis use is hopefully coming to an end, and thanks to the team at Emerald Health Therapeutics, I was recently able to educate myself properly on the subject matter. Now that I’ve had time to digest the information, I wanted to take the time to share this topic with all of you for the first time. October 17th is coming, whether you like it or not, so why wouldn’t we help to educate each other as best as we can?
Funny enough, for those of you who don’t know, October 17th is also my 35th birthday. It feels ironic that I get the opportunity to share a day that will go down in history in such a personal way. I’ll admit that the #DiscussCannabis retreat in Vancouver I recently attended helped me to understand Cannabis in a whole new light. I am what some would call a “novice” in the area because it was never something I partook in regularly. Stereotypically, it was of course something I had tried in my younger years, but I didn’t enjoy the experience of smoking weed. I was never the “stoner” in high school – though many of my friends were. But the fact is that Cannabis as an industry is so much more than lighting a spliff on October 17th in the streets to celebrate the freedom to do so. There are so many ways to incorporate Cannabis into your daily life that do not involve the ideas that come to mind when I mention the word, you can even purchase cannabis vaporizers carts nowadays- and that is where Emerald Health Therapeutics comes in.
Landing in Vancouver one week after visiting for the first time ever, I didn’t know what to expect. Like many of you, certain preconceptions come to mind when I think about Cannabis. Over the next three days, I would come to learn that my experiences with, and preconceived notions about what legalization entailed, might not encompass the whole truth.
What a lot of Canadians may not know is that on October 17th, legalization will allow for the sale of flower and cannabis oil products. This means that it’s the traditional cannabis that you think of – but it doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to access it as easily as you might expect right away. Private sale of cannabis will take months to take into effect on a mass scale once the law is changed, and each province will execute these sales in their own ways. Not to mention that edibles won’t be legal for at least another year under the new legislation – something to think about when it comes to what to expect in your city and province over the coming weeks. With edibles, there are a variety of flavours that they can come in. From strawberry, watermelon sours, cherry and orange, there is something out there for pretty much everyone. Read more about edibles if trying them (if legal) is a thought that has once been considered.
I want to keep this as personal and to the point as I can so that I don’t over-educate you on the subject matter. You can follow along with the whole retreat experience by watching my “BC or Bust” highlight on our Instagram account here, but I wanted to boil it down into a few facts about why we are excited to have attended. Aside from the fact that Vancouver soothes my soul, it was a life-altering experience for me and I feel very honoured to have been invited to join.
For those of you looking for a reputable name to venture down this new road alongside myself as a “novice” cannabis consumer, here are some impressive facts about Emerald Health Therapeutics that might make you think about them (and the industry) a bit differently:
- One of the industry’s most qualified management teams in life sciences, cannabis cultivation & large-scale agri-business. Management & board members have raised over $1B for development-stage companies and run clinical trials with aggregate budgets exceeding $1B.
- Exclusive arrangement with Canada’s largest nutritional supplement marketer and manufacturer, Factors Group of Nutritional Companies, gaining access to a facility capable of processing up to 1M kg of biomass annually and softgel production capacity of up to 600M capsules per year.
- Secured cannabis supply agreements with the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador. Emerald will allocate approximately 13,000 kg of product to the BCLDB.
- Product quantities for the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation and the Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation will be disclosed once details from these provinces are released.
- Downstream focus on high margin products. Pursuing product innovation and intellectual property based on unique genetics/strains, formulation, delivery, and other attributes. Future initiatives include generating clinical evidence of utility with unique formulated products.
- Transformational 50/50 partnership with Village Farms, one of North America’s largest vertically integrated greenhouse vegetable growers, converting co-owned 1.1M sf greenhouse for large-scale cannabis cultivation.
While Cannabis consumption has been pigeonholed in the media by the pot smoking “stoner,” I learned about what purposeful people from coast-to-coast in Canada can look for when purchasing cannabis products. It’s not always about the euphoria or “high” associated with the stigma I am hoping to dispel, but rather addressing symptoms that a lot of us are suffering from, in our day to day lives.
The five topics that Emerald Health Therapeutics is looking to address for Canadians and purposeful people with their products include: Sleep, Calm, Pain, Happiness & Mind.
As someone who simply doesn’t sleep well, I think that is the area I am most excited to focus on with my cannabis consumption. In supporting the Endocannabinoid System (stay tuned as Catherine takes lead on this topic for us, as a Certified Holistic Nutritionist), the strategy is to offer an option instead of turning to traditional pharmaceuticals and medication that have been prescribed to us for so long. Instead of reaching for something like acetaminophen when I have a headache, I will hopefully be able to reach for a gel capsule of a Emerald Health Therapeutics cannabis product in the future instead. The science shows that it could be much more effective insofar as the effects on my body. At the end of the day, cannabis is a plant, and using that which is found in nature does feel like the better option to me.
I think that one of the things that impressed me most about the whole retreat was how important is was to help treat symptoms that I, and many Canadians, suffer from above and beyond the commonly known ways in which cannabis is consumed. While a lot of other companies are looking to get you high with their products, there are so many more layers to the Emerald Health Therapeutics model. Helping me to find balance – something I desperately am craving more of in my day to day life – with products that are tailored to my specific needs is something that makes me trust this company in a sea of opportunities. By now I’m sure you’ve been seeing ads, influencer events on your social media, pop-up events, Instagrammable moments, billboards, and so much more. It’s a bit daunting if I’m being honest. But it doesn’t have to be if you stop and do a bit of research, focusing on what you are hoping to achieve as a consumer.
But what I hope you take away from this blog post is to understand that this brand is looking to be in my bathroom cupboard, or on my bedside table to help me get to sleep easier after a stressful day, and it makes me want to not only work more with them leading up to legalization and my birthday, but also to regularly use their products as a consumer.
It’s not just about my buying power, it’s also about the education they are offering us all. A brand that invests in helping me to understand something as big as Cannabis in Canada is something that is quite rare – everyone wants to be THE Cannabis company, but something tells me that some of them might be flashes in the proverbial pan when it comes to executing a long-term goal. Yes, it will be easier to get high as of the 17th, but what makes a brand different or stand out in my mind? That they want to not just take my money, but rather, that they want to help me.
So before the big day in Canada, I hope you take the time to give some thought to the companies you will support. We are all heading towards not only a new industry in Canada, but a way of thinking that we haven’t had as a country in far too long. It will take time to dispel myths around cannabis and cannabis users, but one day at a time we will be here to help #DiscussCannabis with you all. You can also head to www.discusscannabis.ca to learn more about everything I’ve mentioned above and so much more.
I think this social media conversation is one of the most important for us to have, and I invite you to join in on it with us. Follow @EmeraldHealthCA on Instagram, @EmeraldHealthCA on Twitter and ‘Like’ The Emerald Health Therapeutics Facebook Page. Use and follow the #DiscussCannabis hashtag and let’s talk about this more openly one day at a time.
For more behind the scenes of this and other amazing brands we are working with around the world, make sure to follow along with the #DoTheDaniel Instagram account. We would love to have you join on our adventures!
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Photos: All social media accounts listed above, Emerald Health Therapeutics & Daniel Reyes
Cheers!
Mobile photos were taken with my #HuaweiP20Pro on the Rogers network
*Please note that this is a sponsored post in exchange for travel and accommodations in Vancouver during the #DiscussCannabis retreat – our disclosure can be found at all times by clicking here.