Cape Bretoners are hungry for cannabis.

Beverly Ware, spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, confirmed customers have been asking about edibles. 

Ware said under federal regulations the corporation cannot legally purchase edible and drinkable cannabis until Dec. 16. On Oct. 17, licensed producers submitted their products for consideration, a 60-day process. No decisions have been made on what products the NSLC may carry.

Ware said when they receive the new products will depend on their suppliers but there is the possibility some could come in prior to Christmas.

Bev Ware

“We don’t have a specific date or week,” Ware said. “We’re saying late December into January because it depends when licensed producers can fill and deliver the orders.”

Some of the beverages being produced by Canopy Growth Corporation which will be available in parts of Canada including through the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation. The company says they plan to introduce 32 specific items by the end of December. The company will be making a Tweed distilled cannabis that can be purchased on its own, or in a ready to drink format in three different strains including a variety of vapes, edibles and beverages and add 20 more products over the following year. Contributed photo/Canopy Growth Corporation

However the NSLC indicates the products will be limited at first. When cannabis was legalized in Canada on Oct. 17, 2018, they received less than 40 per cent of the purchase orders placed.

Ware said the NSLC does have some information posted in their stores — including on the TV screens behind the counter — informing customers of when the new products will be coming and to expect a limited assortment.

“We are expecting very limited initial product availability and may have a few products by late December and into January with a broader variety of products, such as topicals, expected to be added later.”

The information will be updated as they have more to share, she added.

“We want to keep customers informed with the information we have and our employees are getting some inquiries, especially now that the stores are pretty much ready for this next phase of products.”

Since cannabis was legalized in October 2018, the Sydney River store — the only NSLC outlet selling cannabis in Cape Breton — has been the second-busiest of the 12 stores province wide.

Rocky McNeil Jr., of Sydney River, is looking forward to the edibles.

“It will be a different way to enjoy marijuana,” he said.

McNeil said he‘s not optimistic on what the immediate availability will be like, knowing the supply and assortment will be limited.

“I’m curious, though, and I’ve researched to get an idea on the products,” he said. “I think it will be quite nice to try them. I'm looking forward to it."

George Poulain, 67, of Point Edward, said he is interested in the edibles and will try them.

Poulain likes sweets and marijuana.

“My preference is the marijuana itself,” he said. “But I will try them (edibles) at some point.”

Caitlin O'Hara, corporate communications manager with Canopy Growth Corporation, said they’ll be bringing their new products to market on retail shelves across the country, including the Sydney River NSLC, in late December or early January, depending on the province. 

Craft chocolate infused with cannabis at the Canopy Growth Corporation in Smiths Falls, Ontario, product being produced in partnership with Hummingbird Chocolate, the same space where Hershey Canada made chocolate for more than 50 years. The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation is expecting to have a limited supply of cannabis edibles and beverages starting sometime between late December and the new year. Contributed photo Canopy Growth Corporation

In an email response to questions posed by the Post, O’Hara said the company plans to introduce 32 specific items by the end of December, including a variety of vapes, edibles and beverages and will add 20 more products over the following year.

Right now, O’Hara said, all of these products are under review by Health Canada and the earliest they could hit the shelves for consumers at the Sydney River NSLC would be Dec. 17.

Adult consumers in Nova Scotia will be able to purchase a variety of cannabis-infused products including the company’s Tweed distilled cannabis. The cannabis can be purchased on its own, or in a ready-to-drink format in three different strains, she said. The company’s cannabis-infused beverages may contain THC, CBD, or a combination of the two.

Consumers can also purchase their cannabis-infused chocolates created by their award-winning partners, Hummingbird Chocolate.