Cannabis legalization is moving forward in many different regions and it's expected that Canada will soon have their own legal cannabis market established by October 17th later this year.
A few in the media have referred to the upcoming market as a “free market” for cannabis but the market that's being established is a highly controlled one and isn't free in many ways. As well, even though they are moving for legalization to be achieved by October, they are still going to ban the sale of edibles that have been infused with cannabis, until they can come up with rules surrounding those products later on.
A number of food companies are looking to try and cater to the cannabis crowd though, without having to make weed-infused cannabis products. One item for example is the Oh Henry! 4:25 bar that's pictured above, which was unveiled by Hersey Canada a few weeks ago.
Even though the edibles might not be legalized yet, you can still find a variety of cannabis edibles being made and sold in the country.
Hersey put on a pop-up shop to promote their cannabis-themed bar. And it's only a matter of time before more food companies look to follow in the same direction, catering to the cannabis crowd. In the states we can see companies already trying to do the same as well. Jack in the Box for example launched a $4.20 Merry Munchie Meal in a few of their locations. They had allegedly brainstormed with a cannabis company, Merry Jane, to try and come up with marketing ideas that would cater to that crowd.
Previous surveys have asked pot smokers what their favorite restaurants are to visit when they get cravings and results have indicated that McDonald's is the number one choice for many.
After that, folks have indicated that they also prefer Taco Bell, Wendy's, Burger King, and Subway. Those were found to be the top five choices with some cannabis smokers that have been polled previously.
Canada is the 2nd country in the world to move forward with cannabis legalization at a federal level. It's been estimated that the edibles market for cannabis in Canada might eventually reach $200 billion or more. It won't be easy for companies who are looking to start up and market however, because there will be a tremendous amount of restriction and control that's in place regarding how they can market and what they can sell etc--it isn't a truly free market.
Pics:
pic 1 - reddit
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pic 3 - Boing Boing