Economic Development Cowichan has published a new report with the goal of helping local cannabis businesses.
The new report called Cannabis in the Cowichan Valley is designed to help businesses understand the legal cannabis industry in the area.
Director of the Craft Cannabis Association of BC, Sarah Campbell says that Cowichan quality cannabis has been grown in the region for a long time.
“World-class cannabis has been grown in the Cowichan Valley for decades, contributing significantly to the economic well-being of this region,” says Campbell. “The transition to a legal market hasn’t been easy for many of our local businesses, and this work helps us better understand how we can help.”
The report lays out 11 recommendations for managing growth in the sector from a business and governmental perspective. For industry, that includes things like looking towards the role model of the wine and tourism industry to look to encourage cannabis tourism. For government, that includes considering taking limiting how many licenses are held by a single owner, and looking at how many total licenses are distributed in terms of market saturation.
It also recommends that both parties lobby the provincial government to allow online sales for private retailers and third-party warehousing, shipping, and delivery service.
A CVRD press release says that they will be working with industry to implement those next steps.
