First comes legal cannabis. Then, say industry insiders, will come the artisan stuff

WhenAlbertanswalk into a retail cannabis store on Oct.17, they'llbe able to choose froma selection of about 300 products from 13 different licensed producers.

But for the more experienced cannabis user, the experience might be a bit like walking into a liquor store and choosingbetweenMolson Canadian andLabatt Blue.

The Alberta Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Commission has signed deals with 13 cannabis producers to provide the province's pot. One Aurora is an Alberta company;all of them are federally approved large-scale producers.

Products available will includedried flower, milled flower, pre-rolls, oil, capsules and seeds, at a variety of price points.

But Lana Syms, aself-employed retail consultant in the medical cannabis industry, said consumers won't yet have access to the really good stuff.

"On the level of the street, so to speak, licensed producer weed is still mocked. From the 420 culture as a whole, nobody thinks LPs are growing good weed," Syms said.

"The people that will buy that weed are people that are naive and don't know any better, but they'll become educated as time goes and then they'll begin to look for better sources of material than what the legal system will provide."

Craft cannabis producers face cost hurdles

For now, so-called "craft cannabis" from small producers known as micro-cultivators and micro-processors will not be sold in Alberta's retail cannabis stores.

Micro-cultivators produce cannabisunder a 2,000-square-foot canopy space. Many micro-cultivators have been growing under the black market or the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes regulationsfor years, Symssaid.

These small producerswill be able to apply for federal licences on Oct.17, said Deepak Anand, vice-president of government relations and development at the consulting firm Cannabis Compliance Inc.

Initially, Anand said, it willbe tough for the little guy to compete with the more well-established, larger licensed producers.

If they do become licensed and get access to sell to the AGLC, it will increase the diversity of cannabis strains available to the public, he said.

"Most people that are currently growing craft [cannabis] have been doing so illegally, and the requirements of the AGLC are quite significant," he said.

For some current micro-craft cannabis producers withunsophisticated business skills,"it's going to be quite challenging for them to supply to these sort of government monopolies, if you will."

The cost of setting up a large licensed cannabis production facility can run up to $5 million, Anand said. Micro-cultivators can expect startup costs to average $500,000, he added.

'True artisans of the industry'

The AGLChas no timeline on when it will be looking to sign with craft growers, spokespersonKaleigh Miller said. But once it gets a sense of what the market will be like, it willbe looking to sign more contracts with licensed providers, she said.

"We already know that we likely will want to enter inmore contracts with people, and specifically Albertan companies. We anticipate that will grow over time," Miller said.

Syms recognizes the AGLC is doing its best to provide good product, but is looking forward to seeing craft cannabis reaching the consumer market.

While licensed producers may be preoccupied with mass production and stock prices, she said. For the micro-cultivators, it's a passion.

"The craft growers are the ones who know and love and respect the plant itself. Yes, they hope to make money and make a living off of it, but more importantly it's about the plant itself," Syms said. "They're the ones that want it to be done right with the best products possible.

"The craft producers are going to be the true artisans of the industry."