They discussed the current market climate for those trying to share their high quality extracts in the legal world and what changes for the future could help.
You can watch the full recording of The State of Craft episode 18 here.
For those who don’t have time to watch the full episode, here is a summary of some of the points discussed.
Legalization has allowed for collaboration among small producers, as well as less fear and policing in the industry.
There’s a myth that bad quality products are the ones that get turned into extractions, which in fact great quality product is required.
Consumers are under-educated because of regulations that don’t allow for enough information to be put on the labels.
There are too many middlemen in the supply line - government distribution makes it hard to get to market.
If the industry is being taxed, there should also be opportunities for representation. An industry trade group should exist to help.
Regulations aren’t necessarily bad as a whole - some serve a great purpose. But some need to be changed or removed and the cannabis industry should be treated fairly compared to other industries.
No regulations at all also comes at a cost - it can be harder to find good quality product.
Opportunities should exist to properly train budtenders. Samples should be allowed to be given to further education on individual products, and this would also lead to retail stores being able to make more informed business decisions.
Many products are not stored properly, especially with regard to temperature.
More focus needs to be placed on getting a product from the producer to the retail shops and end consumers. Direct sales are needed, even if it means greater costs such as packaging.
On-site consumption could be very beneficial, as well as regulated cannabis cafes. It should be treated more like the alcohol industry.
Government should include those in the industry when considering regulation changes, and not just politicians who don’t know the industry.
The more difficult and challenging the regulations are, the more they support the black market.
Watch the full episode on YouTube.
This article was written in tandem with Mike F.