Edibles hit the shelves of cannabis stores

Jan 22, 2020 | News

The display with the conventional marijuana products at the Hunny Pot Cannabis Co. at 202 Queen St. W., Jan. 17. (Alina Zorina)
Alina Zorina

Marijuana edibles and other products on the list of Cannabis 2.0 products are now available in cannabis stores across Ontario. And they’re selling out.

The updates to the cannabis regulations were enacted on Oct. 17, 2019, with sales beginning on Jan. 16, 2020, allowing licensed stores to sell edibles, cannabis extracts, and topicals, the Canadian government’s website reported.

The Hunny Pot Cannabis Co. on 202 Queen St. W. is one of the retailers carrying edibles, and was one of the first legal retail cannabis stores in Toronto which opened on April 1, 2019.

A welcoming atmosphere and friendly bartenders with their tablets ready to help, along with the abundance of flowers, extracts, vapors, and edibles for sale attract experienced customers and newcomers.

Customers at the Hunny Pot Cannabis Co. at 202 Queen St. W., on Jan. 17. (Alina Zorina)

Cookies, gummies, mint candies, chocolates, and even tea are available, and have quickly become a popular option.

“We got edibles only two weeks ago and most of them are already sold out as people get excited,” said Miranda Spencer, a bartender at the Hunny Pot Cannabis Co.

The edibles were so popular that stock was reduced an amount that can be seen in one display case on the second floor.

Prices for edibles vary from $20 for CBD milk chocolate bars to cookies for $6, Spencer said.

The display with edible cannabis products at the Hunny Pot Cannabis Co. at 202 Queen St. W., on Jan. 17, 2020. (Alina Zorina)

Edible marijuana products are an alternative for those who want to experience cannabis effect but not ready to smoke flowers or to vapour extracts, she said.

“We believe these products will attract new customers, those who never considered smoking or vaping,” Spencer said.

The National Cannabis Survey conducted by Statistics Canada in July 2019 found that 16.8 per cent of those surveyed in Ontario consumed cannabis by either smoking or other methods.

The survey also showed an increase in marijuana usage among people 65 years and older to five per cent from three per cent.

The effect of edibles differs from the traditional marijuana products, as it takes up to three hours for consumers to feel it and lasts much longer, Spencer said.

Jeffrey Pegg, a customer at the Hunny Pot Cannabis Co., said it took a while to feel the effects the first time he tried edibles.

“It took a while, probably, half an hour to affect me but then it lasted for six hours after I ate it,” Pegg said.

“It was the most intense feeling among all,” he said.

Pegg said he’s not considering to try edibles again as it was too intense for him, but believed that for some people it worked well.

“Some people take it before they go to sleep, so they don’t really feel it as much as they are dreaming,” he said.