The New Gold Rush

For the last six months or so, Toronto has been high on pot—and not just literally. Since legalization, the city’s canna-business has grown into a juggernaut. Prospectors are fleeing the prohibitionist U.S. to set up shop in Toronto. Veteran chefs now dose their amuse-bouches with THC. And Bay Streeters are throwing billions at upstart ganja-preneurs. They’re building an industry from scratch, and it’s all there for the taking. Here, a guide to the swashbuckling speculators and buzzy success stories of the new weed wonderland—everyone who’s cashing in on cannabis right now.

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

This package originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of Toronto Life magazine. To subscribe, for just $29.95 a year, click here.