'Hype, hope and dreams': B.C.'s craft cannabis industry stunted
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British Columbia has been a mecca for cannabis enthusiasts and growers long before the product became legal in Canada in 2018.
British Columbia has been a mecca for cannabis enthusiasts and growers long before the product became legal in Canada in 2018.
But the underground pillar of the province's economy hasn't flourished despite the hard-fought battle for legitimacy, industry advocates say.
Policy hurdles continue to strangle the life out of the dreams of small craft growers and squander the legacy of B.C. bud, said Marshall Anselmo of Grass Roots, a Vancouver Island company that markets exclusive strains of cannabis plants.
“There was a lot of hype, hopes and dreams,” said Anselmo, who helped showcase growers pre-legalization and farms cannabis with a medical licence.
“But that kind of took a pretty quick turn,” he said.
“There's a lot of growers still in the weeds, waiting to see how things will turn out.”
Though B.C. has competitive advantages, the West Coast cadre of small-batch growers simply can't access the market, said David Hurford, secretary of the BC Craft Farmers Co-op.