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infrastructure. If the infrastructure needs more supply because they Peter Szecsodi:
are actually part of the whole system, it actually means more work. In relation to the facilities that exist across Canada right now, the
And it's been a bit of a broken telephone on that. wine industry has a certain marquee that they can sell their
products basically on their locations, and do tours and kind of
Peter Szecsodi:
integrate in that. Do you think that the cannabis industry will evolve
How do you think the rollout of legalization has gone in Canada?
into that?
Where we're at today and where we're going in the future?
Bruce Linton:
Bruce Linton:
Great question. Yes. In fact, conditionally or notionally, the feds have
I would say the first six months went way better than I expected.
said, "You can have that capacity when there's enough supply in
Most of the necessary infrastructure for distribution out of the the system that people visiting your retail locations isn't to the
provinces wasn't ready until late September, three weeks before disadvantage of the other retailers." And I would say that probably
national roll out. And the result was, after nearly a hundred years we’re at that stage, or by January we're at that stage. And then,
of prohibition, whatever was put on the shelves got bought. what's going to happen is the secondary benefit of curiosity, it will
Because guess what? If you wait a hundred years in a lineup, you're be tourism. And the neat part is most of these facilities are in
going to buy the heck out of everything. jurisdictions which have a real need for people to go there. And the
tourism business has been diminished or doesn't exist. And so,
And now I think where it's eased up and going less well is, provinces
this will become, I think for some time a very fascinating reason to
need to fulfill their obligation, which was making multiple retail
go to many of these sort-of off the path towns and rural settings.
locations available so the illicit market, which has retail locations,
And it'll be good, I think, more for brand building and for local
has real competition. And depending on the province, it's been very
revenues than anything.
uneven. Alberta is absolutely chockablock full of stores and more
rolling out. Newfoundland is doing a terrific job. But places like Peter Szecsodi:
Quebec and Ontario have been slow and sort of working through Where does Canada stand today in the global marketplace and
their model. So, I think you're going to see that move a little better where will we be going in the future?
in the next three months. And by the time we get to January, 2020
Bruce Linton:
it's going to have way more demand. Because what you're going to
We were so far ahead three years ago compared to everyone on
have in those stores, wherever they exist, are elegant, well thought
the planet based on how they were regulating medical, and how
out, scientifically-driven products that the illicit market does not
they were contemplating as they did, recreational. But what's
have. Which is going to mean that people are going to go to those
happening is the gap is closing rapidly. Because if you look at the
stores to get the differentiated products. It's going to put pressure
US states, the big ones are getting sophisticated, even though it's
on the elicit market and it's going to be reasons that a store should
federally illegal. They're creating more and more brands,
open up because there's a lot of revenue the province is missing.
differentiated products, it’s going rapidly ahead. And Israel decided
they're really actually going to let this go and make it happen. And
so, I think the membership has to say to anybody who knocks on
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