[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-21px|auto||auto||” custom_padding=”0px|||||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n
The Canadian cannabis industry had a rough start but has surprisingly managed to grow despite speculations at the beginning of 2020, not to mention the pandemic. (Photo by Cassandra Yanez-Leyton)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-8px||25px|||” link_option_url_new_window=”on”]<\/p>\n OTTAWA \u2013\u00a0 Eric Lewinson was not fazed when, at the end of March, right at the outset of the pandemic, he committed to opening at least three Canna North Cannabis Stores in his hometown of Ottawa.<\/span><\/p>\n Last year was a grim one for the cannabis industry. Ontario\u2019s retail stores were capped at 25, creating problems of oversupply. As the year progressed, the hype around the industry slowly came down along with share prices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By January, experts were predicting<\/a> that several companies would not live to see the end of 2020. The pandemic would be another blow.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px|auto||auto||”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-45px|||||” custom_padding=”23px|||||”]<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cHonestly, I felt even more confident,\u201d said Lewinson when he realized he was entering the industry at a time when COVID-19 was proving to be more disruptive than anyone had thought.<\/span><\/p>\n The 26-year-old first-time business owner was intent on developing a business for people who have been consuming cannabis since before it was legalized in 2018. He said he feels that these \u201clegacy smokers\u201d have been left behind by other companies\u2019 attempt to draw in new customers.<\/span><\/p>\n Lewinson said he felt confident that he would attract these clients because cannabis consumption had increased and existing stores did not cater to them.<\/span><\/p>\n Retail sales from cannabis stores<\/span> jumped by<\/span><\/a> $30 million across the country between February and March 2020, as consumers stockpiled ahead of the lockdown.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Eric-Lewinson-scaled.jpg” title_text=”Eric Lewinson” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-42px||9px|||” custom_padding=”37px|||||”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”4px|||||” custom_padding=”0px|||||”]<\/p>\n Eric Lewinson is a first-time business owner who will be opening three Canna North Cannabis Stores in Ottawa in December. (Photo provided by Eric Lewinson)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n \u00a0Zohra Azizi, a 25-year-old Torontonian, said she made sure to get her hands on two ounces of dried flower at the start of the pandemic. She bought another four later in the summer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy cannabis use definitely increased by like 120 per cent since the pandemic started,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n But it wasn\u2019t the stockpilers who threw a lifebuoy to an industry that in 2019 was seriously struggling with problems of oversupply, slow roll-out of retail stores and general investor skepticism.<\/span><\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t a rise in individual consumption either. Only 6.5 per cent of Canadians increased their weekly consumption of cannabis between March 29 and May 10, according to a Statistics Canada <\/span>survey<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n