Federal red tape and foot-dragging on approving makers of edible cannabis will see months-long delays in the products reaching stores, a Calgary chocolatier said Thursday.

A spokeswoman with Alberta’s cannabis regulator also voiced frustrations about the process.

City businessman Brad Churchill said he’s been waiting for a licence allowing him to infuse chocolate with cannabis at his Calgary factory since applying for it in late July.

The owner of Choklat said he received a reply from Health Canada but no licence this week, and fears the time it takes to receive it and approval for such things as packaging will push back the actual sales date for his products to March or April.

The industry had been hoping edibles and other derivatives, to be officially legalized Oct. 17, would be available in stores by Christmas.

“It’s been a gong show with Health Canada,” said Churchill.

The candy maker said he was told by federal officials they would seek to expedite his approval process if he could prove he was ready to produce edibles and meet standards, but that hasn’t happened.

“They haven’t been proactive about doing anything ahead of any deadline, they’re not reviewing anything until it’s legal (on Oct. 17),” he said.

“If we got approval, we could turn on the equipment the same day.”

Starting Oct. 17, Health Canada has said it will accept from would-be edibles producers a list of products they intend to make and sell over a 60-day period before granting a final approval.

Churchill said that would include a review of a producers’ choice of packaging, a process that could severely set back delivering a finished product.

“Then there’s the process of getting it approved by Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) and getting excise stamps,” he said.

“People have been realizing over the past 12 months just how restrictive the process is going to be.”

Last week, a spokeswoman with the AGLC said they’ve heard little from Health Canada on how the derivatives phase of cannabis legalization will roll out.

“We’re still waiting, we don’t know what their role in enforcement is — there’s nothing solid, even for anything on products,” said Chara Goodings.

“The earliest someone could possibly have something to sell is December, and that’s not likely either.”

Another AGLC official said they expect “updates in the coming weeks.”

Cannabis edibles and a wide variety of other derivatives and concentrates have long been readily available on the black market, including on numerous openly operating illicit websites.

Some of those in the legal industry say they’re hamstrung due to regulation, and the sooner they can begin competing with the illegal sector, the quicker they can realize cash flow and undermine it.

They also say the advent of legal derivatives will greatly expand their market by appealing to non-smokers.

Health Canada has been working closely with provincial regulators and the cannabis sector to keep them abreast of developments in the next phase of legalization, said spokeswoman Tammy Jabeau.

“Health Canada has provided extensive guidance to the regulated industry and to all provincial and territorial partners on the new regulatory requirements,” Jarbeau said in a statement.

The ministry, she said, engages those partners in regular teleconferences to share information and answer questions about that next step.

Strictly observed regulations that include the approval process are needed to protect the public and deter the black market, said Jarbeau.

“The expert Task Force on Cannabis Regulation recommended that the legal sale of a broad range of cannabis products be permitted in order to displace the illegal market while at the same time subjecting the products to strict regulatory control to mitigate risks and harms,” she stated.