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For CannTrust CEO Peter Aceto, the fact that proposed regulations on edibles and concentrates have been released before the end of the year are a welcome development for his company’s long-term growth plan. “We were just in a meeting and half the table gasped excitedly. The regulations are thoughtful, comprehensive and there’s nothing surprising in them,” Aceto told the Financial Post.

The only snag, which Aceto believes will be clarified over time, are the limits on caffeine spelled out in the regulations as they relate to making a cannabis-infused drink.

CannTrust has a partnership with a small American startup that makes cannabis-infused coffee pods, that can be used in a Keurig machine, for instance. Branded BrewBudz, Aceto says that his company has already filed a patent application for the weed coffee pods, and plans to introduce them to the Canadian market next year, pending legislation.

“We would like to get some clarification from the government on what the connection between caffeine and THC means,” Aceto said.

While Linton said the 10 mg THC limit was “do-able,” cannabis industry consultant Deepak Anand, who was more broadly critical of the draft regulations, calling it “restrictive.”

“What consumers are going to do is they will buy multiple 10mg packages to get high, and that’s going to encourage waste,” he said.

Linton believes producers will just have to innovate when it comes to what a single container might look like.