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SMITHS FALLS, Ontario – Multi-million dollar marijuana plants were sitting under lamps brighter than the midday sun as employees at Canada's largest cannabis company were busy working around the clock. Giant growing rooms of his factory, which used to make Hershey bars.
It is now home to Tweed, whose parent company, Canopy Growth, was the first Canadian marijuana producer to make its New York Stock Exchange debut.
With a value of more than $ 10 billion, Canopy is worth more than Bombardier, the Canadian manufacturer that is one of the world's largest manufacturers of aircraft and trains, providing a striking example of the new hope of the nation to become rich quickly – the marijuana industry.
On October 17, Canada will become the second largest country in the world and the first major economy to legalize marijuana for all purposes. Businesses are clamoring to join what some call a green rush.
"It's like Seagram is back when Prohibition was in effect and about to end," said Deborah Weinstein, an Ottawa lawyer who managed the transfer of Canopy to the Toronto Stock Exchange, with the WEED stock symbol. "But it's more than that. It has never been an industry. "
On the same day that marijuana is legalized, the government will announce a program to facilitate the rehabilitation of Canadians convicted of possession of small amounts of marijuana, according to an official familiar with the plan.
The official, who requested anonymity, said that since more details still need to be resolved, the program will not be active immediately. Pardons should only be available for those convicted of possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana, the legal limit set by the new system.
The law limits products that may contain cannabis; food products, for example, will not be legal until next year.
The legislation also severely restricts advertising and is subject to bureaucratic rules, including licensing and inspection requirements for producers.
But companies are already pushing for more permissive rules.
The fervor is a bit reminiscent of the computer boom of the 1990s. The 12 largest Canadian marijuana companies are now worth nearly $ 55 billion Canadian, or $ 42 billion, and investors are buying shares.
The benefits, however, are a dream of the future. In Tweed, for example, sales of the marijuana industry for medical purposes were only C $ 77 million. The company lost $ 70 million.
Some investors may be sorry. Many experts believe that all marijuana growers currently taking the stock market are not profitable.
There are 120 companies licensed to grow marijuana for medical purposes, which has been legal in Canada since 2001. They are now on the cusp of serving people who just want to become high. In provinces where the private sector will manage retail sales, businesses are scrambling to obtain licenses to open stores.
Shoppers Drug Mart, the largest pharmacy chain in the country, has been licensed as a cannabis producer for medical purposes.
Most of the big players seem to be sitting idle for now, with the exception of some investments, but analysts expect them to become more involved.
Jakob Ripshtein, who previously headed the Canadian operations of Diageo, the British liquor giant that makes Guinness beer and owns several of Seagram's brands, is a notable exception.
In May, he became the Chief Operating Officer of Aphria, which owns an expanding and expanding marihuana grow complex near Leamington, Ontario.
"Do I believe that there will be different players in the industry?" Said Mr. Ripshtein. "I do absolutely."
Only cannabis, oils and dried seeds will go on sale this month. But the industry is considering a future that will include products such as cannabis sweets. In a large laboratory in Tweed, for example, scientists are trying to burn marijuana-based drinks.
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There is also an industry around the industry, which is already making money.
Businesses have grown to create the software that allows producers to track their plants and their finished products as required by the government. Marijuana growers are also voracious consumers of supplies such as fertilizers, as well as energy.
And greenhouse manufacturers now have a customer base other than tomato and green pepper producers.
Beyond that, abandoned factories, like the one Tweed operates in, have suddenly become fashionable properties.
Even Canadian media outlets have joined. In Toronto, the Globe and Mail hired journalists and editors to produce "Cannabis Professional," a daily newsletter that will cost C $ 2,000 per year for a subscription.
David Campbell is one of those who enjoy the boom.
Mr. Campbell, 50, has management experience in companies that make machines known as "supercritical fluid botanical carbon dioxide extraction systems". They usually decaffeinate coffee.
But they are also ideal for extracting active ingredients from marijuana plants to create oil.
Thus, in 2015, while Justin Trudeau was campaigning for legalization for recreational purposes (Uruguay legalized the drug in 2013), Mr. Campbell created Advanced Extraction Systems in Charlottetown, Isle of Man. Prince Edward Island, solely to serve the cannabis industry.
Mr. Campbell did not look back. The company has sold 12 systems this year, including one to a German medical marijuana company. Advanced has grown from one employee, Mr. Campbell, to 14, mostly engineers.
"We think that's just the beginning," Campbell said. "We are targeting California with determination now."
Even seemingly minor ads about the industry can create paper fortunes overnight.
The value of the sale is so low that the company refused to disclose it. However, the news has further raised Tilray's stock price by 78%, adding billions to its value. The excitement quickly dissipated and his actions returned to their previous value.
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Everyone thinks the size of the industry is great.
According to Statistics Canada, the census agency last year, Canadians paid Can $ 5.7 billion for marijuana, 90% of which went to a large black market of resellers and clandestine websites.
Nobody knows what will happen to the illegal trade, with greater selection and lower prices, although the government is committed to smother it.
The main players in Canadian marijuana, including Canopy, come from the medical marijuana system, which was expanded considerably about five years ago.
Bruce Linton, president and CEO of Canopy, acknowledged that from the early days of marijuana for legal purposes, he thought of the day when the much larger leisure market would be open for legitimate business.
However, like most cannabis professionals, he sees the government's strict restrictions on advertising and marketing as a barrier to future profits.
The government requires that marijuana be sold in plain packages containing large health warnings and tiny logos. Advertising is limited to what Health Canada, the federal department responsible for cannabis regulation, calls "information-type promotion" and "brand-name promotion", all of which must be kept out of sight of children. .
No ads are expected to appear before October 17, but several companies have taken the plunge and have posted ads compliant with the upcoming rules.
Health Canada said in a statement it warned several companies.
At the same time, a steady stream of lobbyists in Ottawa has called for more flexible marketing rules.
Federal lobbying records show that public servants, political staff and ministers have received 583 visits or phone calls from marijuana industry lobbyists since Mr. Trudeau's swearing in as Prime Minister. Minister in November 2015. This includes 92 lobbying visits by Brendan Kennedy, President and CEO of Tilray.
At the Tweed plant in eastern Ontario, where children bought broken Hershey treats, Tweed has a carefully landscaped visitor center, museum, café and boutique souvenirs offering clothes and marijuana.
Visitors can learn that Louis Hébert sowed the first seeds of cannabis in what would become Canada in 1606 and smell the odors of the different strains of marijuana in society.
Cheech and Chong are more successful in new technologies than ever before, with employees in white coats, disposable coveralls or black t-shirts, all sporting the company's retro logo.
On a recent day in the visitor center, two of Tweed's 2,000 employees around the world discussed social media strategies at a long, cleverly degraded wooden table.
Mr. Linton was also present, preparing to meet the civic leadership of Smiths Falls to discuss a mural for a factory exterior wall describing the history of the city and imagining its future.
He recalled that cannabis was hardly a safe bet.
For much of his career, Mr. Linton has been involved in several startups in Ottawa.
When he decided a little over five years ago to leave technology aside to create a marijuana business, his collaborators and family members unanimously acknowledged that it was a "very, very bad idea. They were almost right.
In its early days, the company ran out of money twice, said Mr Linton, and almost avoided bankruptcy only because of an injection of last – minute funds from tough investors. to find.
Now, investors have staked billions of dollars on his vision. And Mr. Linton said October 17 would be a unique moment in Canadian history.
"The epicenter of public policy is there, and everyone comes from every country in Canada to see how we do it," he said. "Having a home ground for the first time in history – it's amazing. "
Follow Ian Austen on Twitter: @ianrausten
Catherine Porter and Lindsey Wiebe contributed reports from Toronto. Kirsten Smith provided research.
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