While cannabis edibles are now technically legal, a Dalhousie University professor doesn't expect to see any legal product available before mid December.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois says although the product became legal on Thursday, October 17th, Health Canada has requested two months for products to be approved before they are sold for consumption.

"As of Thursday, companies can submit a proposal to Health Canada for approval," Charlebois says.

One major area of concern for Health Canada is surrounding cannabis edibles that might appeal to children and teens, which Charlebois says is being dealt with by the Federal government.

October 17, 2019, marks the first anniversary of the legalization of cannabis federally in Canada, and the date when the second phase of products — edibles, extracts, topicals and some other alternative cannabis products also become legal. 

Each province and territory were handed the reins for rolling out legalization, and the results in terms of access to legal marijuana are very different for Canadians depending on where they live. This has also had an impact on consumption patterns.

A man in Cape Breton, N.S., received a bizarre surprise when he visited his local Nova Scotia Liquor and Corporation Cannabis (NSLC) store in Sydney River location to pick up a little weed.

After making his selections, George Poulain stood at the counter to pay — and immediately noticed that all was not well with one of his chosen packages.

The cashier noticed the same and picked up the package for closer examination.

“She took the other one and I said to her immediately, ‘it sounds like there’s marbles in that one,’ and we both laughed,” Poulain told CTV News.

After deciding the box of Canopy Growth’s Houndstooth should be opened, the cashier called her boss to take a look.

Some Nova Scotians are still buying from illegal sources, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the NSLC about cannabis use in the province.

The survey covered the first six months after legalization in October 2018.

According to telephone and online surveys conducted by Narrative Research in March and April, 41 per cent of Nova Scotians who were buying recreational cannabis were purchasing their product exclusively from the NSLC.

But the survey also said 40 per cent of people were purchasing cannabis from both the NSLC and illegal sources, while about 20 per cent were buying solely from illegal sources.

"It tells us that we are making an impact on the illicit market," said Beverley Ware, spokesperson for the NSLC.

Nova Scotia is receiving reinforcements from Sundial Growers.

The province just became Canada’s sixth—behind B.C., Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario—to receive the Calgary-based company’s “craft-at-scale” small batch cannabis.

“Nova Scotia has done a tremendous job within the first year of legalization resulting in strong consumer demand for high-quality cannabis products,” said Andrew Stordeur, president of Sundial’s Canadian operations.

Sundial Growers Inc. (Nasdaq: SNDL) (“Sundial”) continues to expand its reach from coast-to-coast with its first completed shipment of high-quality cannabis to Nova Scotia’s alcohol and cannabis retailer.

Statistics Canada recently released the conclusions of a yearlong study examining levels of various illicit drugs, and cannabis, in the wastewater of Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax.

The pilot test study drew samples of the water in the period between March 2018 and February 2019. The research, one StatsCan claims is “the largest ever conducted in North America in terms of population covered,” was carried out in collaboration with Yargeau Laboratory of McGill University’s Department of Chemical Engineering.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) is getting ready for the second wave of cannabis legalization, planning renovations to its 12 cannabis retail stores that opened less than a year ago in preparation for selling topicals, edibles and beverages.

The final cost of renovations—which will include new display cabinets, additional counters and lighting, as well as installing refrigeration units to accommodate the new products—will depend on analysis of the responses from store operators, Beverley Ware, communications advisor for NSLC , told The GrowthOp. That said, Ware notes the current cost estimate is in the ballpark of $3 million to be compliant for selling edibles.