Risk & Business Magazine Benson Kearley IFG Fall 2019 | Page 30

CANNABIS-INFUSED BEVERAGES
Cannabis-Infused Beverages:
Is Your Business Considering This New Marketplace?
I
f your business, like many, is
considering entering into the
cannabis-infused beverage or
edibles marketplace, there are
some things you need to know and
consider before heading down that path.
Our beverage manufacturing industry
in Canada is about to enter a time
unlike any other it has seen before. It is
important for businesses to understand
the information and the risks before
taking the next steps. A lot of our
clients are having the same roundtable
discussions about the cannabis-infused
beverage market.
October 17, 2018, was an important
day in Canadian history as the former-
illegal drug, cannabis, became legal
for recreational use. Following the
recent legislation release, edibles
and consumables will potentially be
following the same path this October.
While legalizing dried cannabis and
oils has certainly presented challenges—
the supply shortage and quality of
product, to name a couple—edibles and
consumables are a whole different story.
There are concerns about dosage, food
safety, lack of public education, and, of
course, keeping them out of the hands
of children. The payoff is an industry
predicted to be worth $5 billion in the
North American markets by 2022—
according to ArcView Market Research,
a firm that collects data on the cannabis
industry.
Much like the months leading up to
cannabis legalization, a lot of companies
started to invest a lot of money without
knowing or understanding all of the risk
factors to their business.
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