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“Cannabis is going to do some amazing things and I want people to see that, I want them to have access.”

Kay said he sources the cannabis he dispenses from those who have held the proper medical marijuana growing licences for no less than five years.

In the first episode, an elderly woman seeks relief for chronic pain in her foot. She isn’t looking for a strong high or anything obtrusive, so Kay gives her a topical cream and lollipop infused with cannabis.

The show also profiles Kay’s family and his employees.

“People need to see what’s really going on behind the curtain, like the Wizard of Oz,” Kay said.

“It’s not a boogeyman — it’s real people working in this industry who have lives, children, families.”

Trish Dolman, the show’s producer and director, called “Bud Empire” “groundbreaking.”

“I don’t think there is a TV series like this, a documentary series, certainly not in Canada,” she said.

Calling himself a “cannaisseur,” Kay said he looks for certain qualities in the cannabis he dispenses, including texture, density, consistency, colour, and how it burns and tastes.

“The ash has to be a grey ash, it can’t be black. It has to be smooth, it can’t burn your throat,” he said.

“Certain strains, like a Purple Kush, has a defining smell that you know the instant you smell it.”

While the marijuana business has moved toward a legalized framework in Canada, there are certain aspects that are currently illegal in some jurisdictions.