Top Pot Producer Is Still Mellow as Canada May Delay Legalizing

(Bloomberg) -- A potential delay in Canada’s plans to legalize recreational pot won’t kill the buzz for the nation’s burgeoning industry, according to its largest marijuana producer.

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government initially hoped to legalize marijuana by July, the fate of the law’s passage remains unclear because of delays in the Senate. Trudeau’s representative in the Senate this week threatened to try and fast-track it if the chamber moves too slowly.

“I never thought it was going to be July 1,” Canopy Growth Corp. Chief Executive Officer Bruce Linton said Wednesday by phone, adding that legalization will probably occur by Aug. 1. “After 80 or so years of prohibition, I don’t find 30 days all that meaningful.”

Senators may “fuss” with the plans for a while so that legalization is delayed for a few weeks, but there isn’t any political will to have cannabis become an election issue, Linton said. Every additional minute the Smith Falls, Ontario-based company has to prepare before the market opens will help it build inventory to fulfill orders, he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jen Skerritt in Winnipeg at jskerritt1@bloomberg.net, Josh Wingrove in Ottawa at jwingrove4@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net, Millie Munshi, Patrick McKiernan

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