Gummies, chocolate bars too tasty to be sold at SQDC

Sidhartha Banerjee · CBC · Posted: Dec 30, 2022 

Cauliflower, garden beet, reishi mushroom — these are some of the odd flavours of edibles for sale at Quebec’s provincially owned cannabis stores.

Quebec prohibits edibles — cannabis-infused food — sold in the province from appealing to young people, forcing consumers to choose from a selection of products such as dried figs to get high. Industry insiders say the tough regulations are helping the black market thrive.

Fabrice Giguère, spokesman for Quebec’s marijuana authority, says the cannabis-infused gummies, candies and chocolates available in other provinces are non-starters in Quebec.

“This is why our edible offer is more oriented toward products such as blackcurrant bites with cinnamon, apples and matcha or blueberries and lavender, dehydrated beets, dried figs and dried cauliflower,” Giguère, with Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC), said in a recent interview.

“This offer allows us to respond to market demand while respecting the legal framework in force as well as our mission to protect public health.”

Ottawa allowed provinces to sell edibles in 2020, two years after it passed the Cannabis Act, which made cannabis legal in the country. Provinces such as Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta were among the first to sell cannabis-infused food. Quebec, meanwhile, only started selling edibles in 2022 — and the government remains the only legal marijuana retailer in the province.

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