TORONTO -- New regulations for cannabis edibles and topicals came into effect Thursday, with products expected to reach store shelves in December.

Here鈥檚 what consumers and parents need to know.


WHAT ARE EDIBLES?

鈥淓dibles鈥� is the umbrella term for cannabis-infused products, which can include beverages, cotton candy, dissolvable strips, gummy candies or baked goods. And topicals are products which can include lotions, balms, and oils absorbed through the skin for relief of pain or inflammation, .

They鈥檙e typically made with cannabis oils or dried flowers and can be a good option for consumers looking to avoid inhaling the smoke from joints or pipes. However, the cannabis effects in edibles can be more potent and affect users for longer periods of time.

Health Canada also notes the latency period after consuming edibles can .

This was the 鈥渕ost profound difference鈥� to other cannabis products, Adine Fabiani-Carter, chief marketing officer at cannabis company Tilray, told CTVNews.ca over the phone. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e not feeling an immediate effect, don鈥檛 just consume more.鈥�

Otherwise, users can accidentally consume too much and experience stronger, unpleasant and unintended effects. The general advice that she and Health Canada have for new users is to 鈥�.鈥�

鈥淭he beauty of edibles and beverages is you can really manage the potency 鈥� people can really control how they feel,鈥� Fabiani-Carter explained.


WHAT HAPPENS ON THURSDAY?

Beginning Thursday, Oct. 17, licensed producers can begin submitting their edible and topical products to Health Canada. Those products will then be subjected to a .

In other words, Thursday is simply one of the first hurdles for edibles to reach the legal Canadian market. A Health Canada press release said it鈥檚 created a 鈥渟trict legal framework to regulate and restrict access to cannabis keeping it out of the hands of youth, and profits out of the pockets of criminals and organized crime.鈥�

Cannabis edibles
Edible marijuana products are displayed for sale at a Weeds Glass & Gifts medical marijuana dispensary in downtown Vancouver on Friday, May 1, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck


WHEN AND WHERE CAN I BUY EDIBLES?

Well, it depends. Because of the aforementioned approval process, products couldn鈥檛 hit the legal market until mid-December -- at the earliest.

On top of that, provinces will each be allowed to further regulate the products. Depending on where you live, new products can be available in licensed cannabis retail stores, Crown companies such as the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC), and online.

As to whether or beverages will come out first, Alanna Sokic, senior consultant for Global Public Affairs, told CTVNews.ca said that will depend on the focus of individual companies and provinces.

鈥淚 would say that B.C. and Quebec tend to take a more robust and certainly more aggressive public health approach to regulating industries such as cannabis,鈥� she said.

And despite the wide variety of products available in the U.S. market, many licensed producers have been concentrating on certain products such as gummies which they get on the market earlier on.

Health Canada further explained that licensed vendors and producers will 鈥渘eed time to become familiar with and prepare to comply with the new rules.鈥�

edibles
In this Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, photo, edible marijuana samples are set aside for evaluation at Cannalysis, a cannabis testing laboratory, in Santa Ana, Calif. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Chris Carlson


IS THERE A RISK TO CHILDREN?

The restrictions on where people can buy or ingest edibles will be largely the same as combustibles. Fabiani-Carter explained these could include being unable to buy cannabis beverages at a bar or eating a pot brownie in a public space.

Although, monitoring this could prove difficult, particularly because of these . Health Canada also warns that it is still or cannabis-infused products across the Canadian border.

Back in June, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said, 鈥淚 encourage adult Canadians who choose to consume cannabis to remember to store it safely out of the reach of children and youth.鈥� Health Canada also said edibles should be designed to be unappealing to young people, but still has not stipulated which colours, flavours or shapes would be allowed.

Sokic elaborated the majority of products will have 鈥渧ery plain鈥� packaging, the now-standard THC symbol, health warnings and the levels of THC or CBD. 鈥淚t鈥檒l have a very sterile look to it.鈥�

The government of Canada also warned users to avoid eating cannabis edibles with nicotine, alcohol, other drugs or health products and to not drive while impaired.

鈥淭he amended regulations are the next step in our process to reduce the risks to public health and safety from edible cannabis,鈥� Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair said in the same release.


WHAT鈥橲 THE BUSINESS IMPACT?

While the rollout of initial cannabis products has been rocky at times, the pot market has proven to be quite lucrative. But edibles are expected to quickly overtake the market now that they have been legalized.

Since the first wave of legalization, 11 per cent of Canadians say they already consume edibles with 13 per cent expected to buy legal edibles. A suggests that edibles and alternatives will be worth $2.7 billion a year in Canada -- making up 60 per cent of the legal cannabis market.

Tilray鈥檚 Fabiani-Carter explained this is because 鈥減eople are moving away from combustible forms of consumption.鈥�


WILL EDIBLES BE AVAILABLE ACROSS ALL OF CANADA?

No. Cannabis edibles such as pot brownies, candy or baked goods .

Quebec's junior health minister Lionel Carmant told that 鈥渢he first thing we need to take care is our public health before economical issues.鈥�

With this in mind, Quebec will permit some products that don鈥檛 appeal to children such as edible cannabis oil and butter. Carmant argued topical creams -- used for medicinal use -- should only be prescribed by doctors.