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Indeed, according to the CRA, there is only one authorized stamp contractor in the country. In preparation for legalization, that stamp contractor printed “in excess of 225 million stamps for cannabis products” in order to meet initial demand. To date, more than 83 million stamps have been purchased and delivered to licensed cannabis producers.

But so far, the CRA says it has not received any complaints from licensed producers about delays in receiving the stamps.

It’s the single biggest factor that slowed us down Jay Wilgar, CEO, UP Cannabis

While Newstrike is relying on manual labour to put the stamps on its products, Canopy, with its excise stamp machines, has clearly found a way to accelerate the process. But that too, came with its own issues, according to Linton.

“Those excise stamp machines we have now are great, sure, but then there was one supplier in that whole automation process who said, ‘A lawyer told me that if I sell you the machine, the Americans will come get me and put me in jail’,” Linton said. “I said, ‘Well, that’s not the case. Now, you have a contract to supply me so either those machines show up, or you have a real problem on your hands.’”

The purpose of the excise stamp is simply to indicate to consumers and retailers that an excise duty has been paid by the producer to the government. While it’s a common, if uneventful, part of the supply chain for alcohol or tobacco producers, cannabis producers are still getting used to it.

“It’s a real, real issue,” said Vic Neufeld, CEO of Leamington, Ont.-based Aphria. “So we’ll get a batch in late, and then we’ll have to determine what products they go on and then you’re frantically working — and you can’t just bring in an army of 50 people and say OK, for the next three weeks we just want you to do this.”

For Chuck Rifici, CEO of the newly licensed Auxly Cannabis Group and co-founder of Canopy Growth, issues like the excise stamps are just “little friction points that add execution challenges,” but will iron themselves out in time.