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Selection at stores and online will depend on availability and delivery schedules, and the LDB says it will refine its stock based on retailer demand.

Meantime, licensed producers have been busy rolling out new products.

Canopy Growth Corp. said it will start with beverages, edibles and vapes and plans to roll out 32 specific items by end of December, and add 20 more over the following 12 months.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. said in a news release that its initial offerings will include vapes, concentrates and edibles such as gummies, chocolates, baked goods and mints.

Health Canada urges novice consumers to start with low-THC doses of edibles, warning that it can take some time for the intoxicating and impairing effects to kick in.

The federal health department says it can take 30 minutes to two hours after ingesting cannabis to feel the effects but up to four hours to feel them fully. Those effects can last up to 12 hours, and residual effects can last up to 24 hours.

“To minimize risks, or if you are a new consumer, look for a product containing 2.5 mg of THC or less,” Health Canada says.

People who inhale cannabis can expect to feel the full effects within 10 to 30 minutes. Health Canada says new consumers or people looking to minimize risks should choose a product with less than 10 per cent THC, with equal or higher levels of CBD.

Babins said he figures “it won’t be the end of the world” if the arrival of edibles, extracts and topicals is delayed a bit.

“If we have all the edibles for New Year’s Eve, that’s begging for the January 1 stories to be about the number of people who ended up in the hospital from drinking and eating too many edibles.”

Photo by Gerry Kahrmann / PNG

—With files from The Canadian Press and Cheryl Chan

neagland@postmedia.com

twitter.com/nickeagland