The news of the Trudeau government legalizing marijuana on October 17th has caught the legal cannabis industry off guard.

“This is sort of a good news bad news story. Good in that it gives everyone more time to get ready. Bad in terms of the cash flow.”

The VP of of Corporate Social Responsibility at Hydropothecary Corporation, Terry Lake, says the feds may have been swayed to give other jurisdictions more time.

“I think the industry generally was expecting the middle of September. This month delay is surprising perhaps but at the same time this is probably a reaction from the provinces from the municipalities making sure they have enough time to be ready.”

Lake says there are still other unanswered questions.

“We are still eagerly awaiting the regulations. We understand they may be available a week from today. That will really be helpful. I have often described what we do as running through the forest at night. You never know where the trees are until you hit them. Not know what the regulations will be has made it very difficult for us to move forward on some things.”

He says once those come out they will provide industry with some much needed clarity.