Year two of legal cannabis to bring new opportunities

Thursday marked the first anniversary of legal cannabis in Canada.

With the first year in the books, the owner of Living Skies Cannabis, Cierra Sieben-Chuback says despite some stressful moments, it was mostly a good experience.

“It was the quickest year ever. I think anybody in the cannabis industry could probably agree with that, but very exciting and I’m excited for what the future holds,” she said.

“It’s been a mixture of so many different things. It’s been challenging, exciting, super fun and a big learning experience.”

Since winning a cannabis retail license last year, Sieben-Chuback has had to turn down multiple offers from companies looking to buy her license — some that were in the millions. She says it didn’t matter how much the offer was for, her mind was already made up.

“It was not easy to get into this position. I did not get into this industry for the money. I’m in it for my own passion, so for that reason it was just a flat out no,” said Sieben-Chuback.

Moving into year two of legal cannabis, companies like Sieben-Chuback’s will soon be able to sell edible products.

Edibles, that can vary from candies to baked goods to beverages, won’t be hitting the shelves until mid December but Sieben-Chuback says that will be an exciting time for both her and her customers.

“That in itself will be almost like a second grand opening. We aren’t going to get all of everything all at once so it should transition smoothly for us in the store, but that will be exciting to see for sure,” she said.

“I know a lot of companies will be focusing on beverages. The one that I am most excited for is the teas, because I am a bit of a tea lover myself. Some companies are doing gummies and chocolates and brownies. Most likely, anything you can imagine, someone would probably be doing some sort of variation of that.”