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Photo by Chris Young/The Canadian Press

With so many unknowns, it is no wonder that licensed producers are casting their nets wide, forming partnerships with a multitude of sectors — food, beverage and even cosmetics companies — to prepare for this second wave of legalization.

48North, a Toronto-based cannabis company with a licensed facility to produce in Northern Ontario is actively focused on the “infused” space, which involves gels, lotions, cosmetics, beverages and food products that all have cannabis laced in them. But the company, unlike Newstrike or Canopy, isn’t looking to partner up with an existing brand — CEO Alison Gordon believes that the more sustainable revenue stream for her company will be partnerships with contract manufacturers that make a myriad of products across many brands.

Photo by Peter J. Thompson/National Post files

“We would create not just our own products, but we would be able to white label and create products for other producers in the industry,” Gordon said. “Look, there’s no shortage of companies that are interested in getting into the pot space in the lead up to edibles being legalized. But we’re trying to find partners that work with multiple brands and have an expertise in formulation — companies that actually do the work of manufacturing the product.”

Gordon hasn’t yet secured a deal with a specific company but says that she’s “far down the path” with a large scale Canadian contract manufacturer that makes upwards of 14,000 products. “I don’t want to be stuck in a position where Health Canada changes the rules on what products we’re allowed to infuse cannabis with, and suddenly my partnership with say, a brand like Oreo, becomes meaningless because we can’t put pot in cookies.”