'Time to embrace it': How the province can make 'B.C. bud' relevant | Daily Hive

'Time to embrace it': How the province can make 'B.C. bud' relevant again

@alittlebud.bc/Instagram

It has been seven years since cannabis was legalized in Canada, and although the industry has seen lots of success, it’s clear that the province can do more to harvest its full potential.

Daily Hive spoke with several notable industry leaders, including Mike Schilling, the CEO of Community Savings, B.C.’s largest cannabis banker, and Randy Tingskou, the President of A Little Bud.

“It’s time to take the training wheels off,” Tingskou told Daily Hive.

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The province of B.C. was once known in the global cannabis community for its “B.C. bud.” It has always been known as a place to get some of the best cannabis in the world, if not the best. Since legalization, however, that idea has faded.

For industry leaders, navigating legalization was sometimes a rocky road, and there is still a lot of red tape.

For many in the business world, there is still a stigma around cannabis. That isn’t the case for Community Savings. Following legalization in and around 2019 and 2020, there was an emergence of retail cannabis stores, and that’s when Community Savings realized its potential.

According to Schilling, some local financial institutions hesitated to jump into the industry because they also had operations south of the border.

“They were afraid that was going to be made difficult,” he said.

“We would welcome more financial institutions to come and provide better competition in this industry,” he added, saying they’re the only serious players right now.

Unlocking the potential of B.C. bud

Dmytro Tyshchenko/Shutterstock

When cannabis was first legalized, many people in the B.C. cannabis community thought the province would be a hub, almost like Amsterdam, for cannabis tourism.

According to Tingskou, the reason we’re not there yet is in part due to the stigma that still exists. For example, the City of Richmond has been vigorously opposed to dispensaries since legalization was announced.

“That’s the root cause, in my opinion, of everything we’re facing,” he added.

That includes finding locations and landlords who are comfortable having cannabis retailers as anchor tenants, but the stigma is still there on the banking side of things as well.

Tingskou hopes the next phase of the cannabis industry will be embracing hospitality, “and that’s kind of the Amsterdam theme,” he said.

“A lot of red tape still holds it up, including the stigma. Things about odour, nuisance, issues like that and general consumption.”

We also delved deeper into the conversation about B.C. bud.

“B.C. was legendary for B.C. bud. I’m 38 years old, and as long as I can remember, anybody talking about it, we’ve been legendary for B.C. bud across the globe, anywhere I travelled, everybody knew.”

He believes it has faded out “significantly” over the last eight years of legalization.

Schilling also pointed out how timely it would be for the province to embrace the industry and its untapped potential now, especially with the ongoing trade war and the shift in focus to local and Canadian products.

“This is a made-in-Canada product. We are world leaders. We’ve got some of the best growers and retailers, the best producers in the world, here in Canada, and they are passionate about what they do. This is a tariff-resistant product as well,” Schilling said.

Some retailers are operating on extremely thin margins or with very limited cash flow, but there is still an opportunity.

“I would say there’s still a great opportunity to make money in this industry, especially if you’re doing it right, retaining your customers, retaining great employees, which is what we strive for,” Tingskou added.

Tingskou says that it’s “time to embrace it.”

“It’s time to back it, and it’s time to jump in with both feet.”

How do you feel about B.C. becoming a hospitality hub for the Canadian cannabis industry? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments.