After Blackberry, Allerton moved to Verda Innovations, a Waterloo-based startup that offers an e-commerce platform for cannabis retailers. According to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, there are currently 14 cannabis retail stores in Kitchener that are either ‘in progress’ or ‘authorized to open.’ Subscribe to the Cannabis Post newsletter. With responsible, controlled consumption, cannabis can be a far more positive element in society,” he adds. After a year as the company’s chief marketing officer, he is now starting his own cannabis venture. Former Kitchener auto plant gets second life as a cannabis farm Norfolk County planner sounds alarm on medical cannabis growers: 'There is a loophole ... and they're exploiting it' Canadian researchers receive more than $4 million in funding to breed better cannabis In February, Allerton and his wife, Niki, will open Highland Cannabis in Kitchener, Ont., a 2,000 square-foot retail space.
Owen Allerton, a former director with Blackberry, says that while alcohol is commonplace in corporate environments despite its harms, cannabis still carries a stigma.
“A startup with beer in the fridge is seen as ‘cool’, and it is entirely normal for a sales leader to take a team out for a night on the town, resulting in hangovers all around,” he notes in an emailed statement. “Those who can ‘handle their alcohol’ are the heroes, and those who cannot, are playfully mocked.”
After more than a decade with Blackberry, Allerton is now trying to change some of those conceptions.
“The irony is that cannabis has been demonized,...
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