Montreal entrepreneurs gear up to cash in on cannabis market ahead of legalization

While 420 is the day devoted to the consumption of marijuana, where people around the world gather to light up at 4:20 p.m. on April 20, some entrepreneurs are already cashing in on the cannabis market.

On 420, business owners, investors say they are banking on boom of marijuana market

CBC News ·
Camille Chacra sells cannabis-related accessories online with her company, Allume. (Allume)

Today marks 420, a day devoted to the consumption of marijuana, where people around the world gather to light up at 4:20 p.m. on April 20. This year, some entrepreneurs are starting to cash in on the cannabis market.

They're hoping business across the country will boom later this year once pot is legalized.

Montreal business owner Camille Chacra sells cannabis-related accessories online that are geared toward women.

She says her company, Allume, fills a need in the market.

"If you go to any smoke shop in town, you'll see that most accessories are super masculine and intimidating. So I wanted to really meet that demand in the market: women looking for nice, discreet items."    

Hamish Sutherland, president and CEO of White Sheep Corp, invests in companies tied to the secondary cannabis market (Hamish Sutherland/Twitter)

Chacra hopes her company grows with the coming legalization of cannabis in Canada.

Others, like Hamish Sutherland, are tapping into the secondary cannabis market.

He's the CEO of White Sheep Corp, a company that invests in the industry, including in companies tied to the cultivation, extraction or consumption of cannabis products.

Sutherland says cannabis consumption is a $5 billion industry in Canada, and he thinks the secondary market can make up as much as half of that.

"[It's] not unlike in the mining space in the 1900s, when you could put your money into a mine, or you could actually put it into the picks and shovels. The picks and shovels of the cannabis industry are equally as critical."

Sutherland believes legalization will help remove the stigma surrounding cannabis consumption and that the secondary market will only grow in the coming years.

With files from CBC journalist Matt D'Amours