Canadian Cannabis Companies Need Chefs, Brewers, and More

It’s already been reported that Canadian cannabis companies preparing for legalization later this year are recruiting skilled extractors and increasing the pay of cultivators. With reports that companies are making edibles, beer, and other infused products to hone their craft in preparation of regulated cannabis commerce, there are opportunities for food and beverage industry workers like chefs and brewers to capitalize on the future market.

While Canada is head of the United States federally overall on cannabis policy, makers of infused-products are crossing into legal U.S. states to test their products, as The Globe and Mail reported:

Dooma Wendschuh is a co-founder of Province Brands, a Toronto-based company brewing beer from marijuana, and he said it’s been “more or less impossible” to work in Canada.

While his team can make small batches of product here, Canadian law prohibits them from doing taste tests, he said.

“If I wanted to open an ice cream parlour, I could just open it. If I wanted to make a new flavour of ice cream, I could just make it. If I want to make a marijuana beverage, I can make it, but no one is allowed to drink it,” Wendschuh said.

Infused products are generating hundreds of millions of dollars in the United States and a wide array of concoctions are securing market share, with some items catering to experienced users while others are for newbies. In the U.S., consumers in legal states differ on their preferred cannabis products from one state to another, providing opportunities for talented artisans to cater to their local market.

Cannabis edibles and other products have been going more and more mainstream and we can expect Canada to be a big market for a variety of infusions, so long as government regulations aren’t too burdensome. As market analyst BDS Analytics has noted, ”It is laws, not consumer demand, that so far have held back worldwide expansion of commercial cannabis sales, and hence development of new consumption forms.”

Get the latest news about Canada’s legalization law and network with the top employers, investors, and activists in the industry at the International Cannabis Business Conference this June 24th-25th. Tickets are going fast, so get yours today!