s the illicit market continues to dominate Canada’s pot industry, one company is on a mission to teach provinces how craft cannabis can save the struggling legal regime.

B.C.-based processor Shelter announced last week the launch of its Craft Collective Division, an in-house service designed to assist and promote small farmers into the legal market.

Despite CBD’s wide reaching popularity, purchasing these products requires a good amount of research and care.

Social media is a great place to look for products, because whether it’s Instagram or Facebook, these platforms can easily connect you with stuff you enjoy. There’s also an algorithm that keeps track of your online behavior, showing you products that fit your tastes. As of late, however, social media has become a space filled with ads and sponsored posts. This should make us all think twice before hitting that purchase button, especially when it comes to CBD.

More than two months after cannabis-infused beverages became legal for sale in Canada, consumers in Ontario will finally be able to see what all the fuss is about.

Valens GroWorks Corp., a producer of cannabis extracts, noted the white label products it has produced in collaboration with A1 Cannabis Company, a subsidiary of Iconic Brewing, will be the first to market in the province in the coming days. Additional Canadian markets are expected to follow.

BASECAMP, what the company calls “a CBD-forward iced tea,” will be available first in select stores, with SUMMIT, “a THC-forward citrus water,” expected to follow over the next few weeks.

As panic surrounding the coronavirus outbreak reaches new heights every day, a Texas-based pharmaceutical company is attempting to capitalize on the consternation with a cannabis extract.

Kali-Extracts Inc. is claiming its CBD formulation, RespRx, is a potential treatment of symptoms associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and other similar respiratory conditions including coronavirus symptoms.

A preliminary study to be presented at an upcoming American Academy of Neurology conference claims teens with epilepsy treated with pharmaceutical CBD fared better than those using “artisanal” cannabidiol.

“Artisanal” refers to a product made in a traditional or non-mechanized way. Artisanal cannabidiol is manufactured outside of what would be considered an industrial laboratory environment. The preference for artisanal cannabidiol could be any of a number of reasons – including cost. It’s been used by some patients for years to help manage epilepsy.

Cannabis is undoubtedly having a moment. In some of the biggest markets around the world, both CBD and THC – the most prevalent of the cannabinoids found in the plant – are being added to all manner of products. But could Cannabis ‘drinkables’ soon be more popular than ‘edibles’?

In countries such as Canada, which launched ‘Cannabis 2.0‘ in October, and a growing number of states in the USA, Cannabis offers big opportunities to new and existing businesses. And in no area is this truer than the food and drinks industry.

The notion of limiting THC in cannabis products is one that is as old as legalization itself. It’s almost as if government officials feel they are losing control over part of people’s lives and want to do what they can to retain as much control as possible.

BioFoodTech — the provincially-owned food testing and development lab in Charlottetown — is now testing cannabis. 

Officials say they started a few months ago after implementing procedures and protocols around this new-to-them product.

"We're here to serve the industry in P.E.I," said Edward Charter, food and bioscience technology manager at BioFoodTech. 

"And since cannabis is now a legal product and edibles as well, and we have that background of being able to test food products, we felt it was essential that we provide that service to that industry."

Previously, cannabis products would have been sent off-Island for testing. Now, cannabis oils, extracts and edibles can be tested at Bio Food Tech for microorganisms.

Just a few steps into the Tweed retail cannabis shop in Osborne Village, potential customers pass by a prominent sign that boasts of THC and CBD-infused drinks, as well as a tall — and currently empty — fridge designed to keep the fizzy offerings cool.

It isn't clear when the high-inducing carbonated beverages will be available at this store, or others.

"The one thing that we didn't quite get right was managing expectations," said Jordan Sinclair, vice-president of communications with Canopy Growth, which owns Tweed and Tokyo Smoke retail stores.

Despite the fact that these drinks have been legal for 2½ months, Canopy-owned companies aren't the only ones without cannabis-infused beverages on store shelves.

There are plenty of legitimate operators who actually want to help the industry get over these growing pains, create good and safe products, and beat down the illicit market.

It’s been pretty clear over the last year that not everyone has been in the cannabis business to build a thriving new cash crop industry. The stories of startups making claims about growth and sales, enticing investors, then bailing with millions in ill-gotten gains, have become part of the early history of this industry. Business fraud seems almost endemic right now.