The pot pilgrims
These five newcomers packed up their lives and moved to Toronto, all for the chance to work in weed
Berkeley Poole
Creative director and VP of Hiku, which owns Tokyo Smoke and Van der Pop
Moved from New York to Toronto in 2016
“I’m from Toronto, but I’d been living in N.Y.C. for five years, working as the art director at Barney’s. The frenetic pace of the city had started to wear on me. I’d done a few projects with Tokyo Smoke, and I saw a huge opportunity. For so long, the look and feel of the cannabis lifestyle has been one-note. I wanted to show that cannabis can be design-minded and cultural.”
Dooma Wendschuh
CEO of Province Brands, which makes the world’s first alcohol-free cannabis beer
Moved from Miami to Toronto in 2016
“I started my first cannabis company in Colorado, but there were too many challenges in an industry that wasn’t federally legal. So I came to Toronto sight unseen. If you want to be in the cannabis industry, you need to be here. The meetings happen here; the professional firms are here; people want to invest here. This is the epicentre.”
Mark Castaneda
CFO of the pharmaceutical and cannabis company Tilray
Moved from Nashville to Toronto in 2018
“I retired last January and moved to Nashville. It turns out I wasn’t very good at retirement. When this opportunity came up, I was excited to create growth in a new industry, and this job is that on steroids. I just had to convince my wife. It was a tough sell, but we love Toronto—or Turrona, if I’m going to say it right. We love the diversity and how accepting everybody is.”
Annie MacEachern
Consumer channels coordinator for Supreme Cannabis
Moved from P.E.I. to Toronto in 2018
“I’m a medical cannabis patient, and I wanted to spread that knowledge, so I was looking for a job in cannabis for a while. I arrived in Toronto on October 12, just days before legalization, and the entire city was buzzing. It’s starting to feel like summer camp. Every weekend, I’m meeting new friends and attending cannabis events. I couldn’t do that in P.E.I.”
Michael Gorenstein
CEO of the cannabinoid company Cronos Group
Started commuting from N.Y.C. to Toronto in 2015
“I founded a fund in New York, and I wanted to get involved in the cannabis industry within a legal federal framework. I commute from New York to Stayner, in Simcoe County; I stay in a house there and come to Toronto for meetings. We’re in the first innings of the cannabis game. This product has the complexity of pharmaceuticals and the branding potential of consumer goods. And everyone’s a little nicer here.”
The New Gold Rush
Part 1: Pot-Luck Dinner
The city is teeming with fancy, secret summer clubs serving THC-laced cuisine. We sent our restaurant critic to sample the goods
Part 2: The Pot Pilgrims
These five newcomers packed up their lives and moved to Toronto—all for the chance to work in weed
Part 3: Hot Boxes
Luxurious designer boutiques are the future of cannabis retail
Part 4: Professors of Pot
It’s a stoner’s dream come true: you can finally major in marijuana
Part 5: Plant Managers
The favourite strains of the horticulturally gifted growers at the city’s top cannabis companies
Part 6: Baked Goods
Wellness gurus are spiking their artisanal lotions and salves with a not-so-secret ingredient. We tested out some of the more intriguing products
Part 7: Buzz Food
Cannabis cooking classes—for those who want to cause and cure the munchies in one fell swoop
Part 8: High Rollers
We quizzed the city’s most powerful cannabis CEOs on their favourite strains, weed slang and what they eat when they get the munchies
Part 9: Joint Ventures
Five of Toronto’s hottest burgeoning canna-companies
Part 10: Who You Gonna Call?
The accountants, lawyers and ad agencies carving out a niche in the buzz biz
