The New Gold Rush

Cannabis legalization is turning Toronto into the weed capital 
of the world. Here, a look at who’s getting rich off reefer

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.