You've heard of craft beer, but what about craft cannabis? As it turns out, words like "small batch," "artisanal" and "local" aren’t out of place here either.
When the Cannabis Act came into effect in 2018, it opened the doors to a whole new industry across Canada. Several years later, and the country's cannabis culture has evolved in significant ways.
To get the lowdown on what exactly craft cannabis is (and what it means for Canada’s cannabis industry), Narcity Canada spoke with Alexandre Gauthier, vice president of research and development, director of cultivation and sales analyst at Origine Nature — a Quebec-based craft cannabis company that also distributes in B.C.
"So, craft and mass production need absolutely to be defined," said Gauthier, when asked what exactly craft cannabis is. The main difference, he noted, is passion.
"[At large-scale cannabis facilities] everything is speed dried. Everything is trimmed by machine. Everything goes through an automated chain to separate buds and package them automatically. And so that's when you become, of course, mass production," he said.
"When we're talking about craft cannabis, there's a lot more human steps and human control.”
At Origine Nature specifically, everything from their growing methods to their facility respects craft traditions and the life cycle of each cannabis plant. Every single plant is grown in Quebec, harvested by hand and hang dried in order to protect the integrity of the delicate flowers.
"When you've got a craft company [...], how they go about the whole production chain, distribution, size of it — well, that's where you see the craft."
Cannabis, Gauthier told Narcity, is incredibly responsive to environmental changes. It needs to be tended to with great care in order to bring out the plant's best traits.
"And so when you have a minute discrepancy in climate, in irrigation, the plant's going to react and that's going to directly impact the final product."
Craft cannabis companies like Origine Nature take pride in creating the perfect growing conditions for each plant. It's one of the many things that sets them apart from mass production operations, Gauthier noted, adding: "We're never in a rush."
For Origine Nature, this attention to detail extends beyond growing methods. The company is also on a mission to create a more sustainable industry in Canada.
Practices like creating a circular economy through the reuse of cannabis waste and limiting their carbon footprint all help contribute to a greener cannabis industry.
"We're laying the foundation, we're making everybody realize that, 'Hey, we can be doing this,'" Gauthier said.
Origine Nature is also committed to the social sustainability of the industry by not taking for granted the opportunities provided by the Cannabis Act.
"We always have [the] utmost respect of the law," said Gauthier. "One of the guarantees of Origine Nature is not only that we will abide by regulation, but we will exceed expectations and traceability."
Gauthier believes this type of sustainable innovation is where Origine Nature and the industry will head in the next few years. The future of cannabis culture, he said, is all about perfecting the craft, and Canada, as a country, will have a big part to play in its success around the world.
"We're really moving forward with that cannabis expertise [...]. We're going to be known as the experts worldwide."
SOURCE: Narcity