Canadian producer Tilray Brands has launched a line of cannabis edibles in Quebec, working around the provincial government’s strict rules regarding such products.
The new edible demonstrates how carefully designed cannabis products can coexist with restrictive regulations designed to put public health first.
The Solei Bites product released under Tilray’s Solei adult-use cannabis brand are “the first legal ready-to-eat edible cannabis product to be sold in Quebec,” according to Fabrice Giguere, spokesperson for the Société Québécoise du cannabis (SQDC), Quebec’s government-owned marijuana retail monopoly.
The products contain 5 milligrams of THC and 10 milligrams of CBD and are sweetened with dates rather than added sugar, according to a Tilray news release.
SQDC already carried ingestible THC powders and cannabis beverages, but the new Tilray product is currently the only edibles item listed on the retailer’s website.
The list price is 6.90 Canadian dollars ($5.50) per package.
The province’s cannabis regulations prohibit edibles from being “sweets, confectionery, dessert, chocolate or any other product attractive to persons under 21 years of age,” ruling out many such products sold in other parts of Canada.
Giguere said the retailer collaborated with Tilray during production to ensure the edibles complied with Quebec’s regulations.
Stay informed with MJBiz Newsletters
MJBiz’s family of newsletters gives cannabis professionals an edge in this rapidly changing industry.
Featured newsletters:
- MJBizDaily: Business news for cannabis leaders in your inbox each morning
- MJBiz Cultivator: Insights for wholesale cannabis growers & vertically integrated businesses
- MJBizCon Buzz: Behind-the-scenes buzz on everything MJBizCon
- MJBiz Retail + Brand: New products, trends and news for cannabis retailers, distributors and marketers
- Hemp Industry Week: Roundup of news from hemp farming to CBD product manufacturing
- And more!
“As such, this product is not a candy or dessert and is not attracting for younger people in its shape, its ingredients and its packaging,” Giguere wrote in a statement to MJBizDaily.
“For us this product is a way to offer consumers another option that is safer for their health since it does not require any form of combustion to be consumed,” Giguere continued.
“This is in line with our mission of public health protection by migrating consumers from the illegal market without encouraging or promoting the consumption of cannabis.”
The SQDC has also discussed cannabis edibles with Quebec-based producers, the Journal de Montreal newspaper reported Wednesday.
In addition to its restrictions on cannabis edibles, Quebec caps the potency of cannabis concentrates to 30% THC by weight, and the SQDC does not sell cannabis vape products.
Although it is Canada’s second-largest province by population, Quebec ranks below some less-populous provinces in terms of legal cannabis sales.
Quebec’s January cannabis sales totaled CA$47.9 million, lagging behind monthly retail cannabis sales in Alberta (CA$61.5 million) and British Columbia (CA$50 million).
Matt Lamers can be reached at matt.lamers@mjbizdaily.com.
Solomon Israel can be reached at solomon.israel@mjbizdaily.com.
