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Short Summary
In this educational episode of the Legacies Podcast, hosts Tom Ritchie and Wesley Bowles issue a correction regarding Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) statistics, clarifying that ocs.ca sales represent less than 4% of Ontario’s total market rather than 30%. They analyze regulatory gaps in recall notifications using the example of iNaturally Organic’s soft gel recall due to health assertions. The hosts welcome Kevin McBride, founder of Kootenay’s Finest and co-founder of Antidote Processing. Kevin shares the history of the Kootenays, explaining how Vietnam War draft dodgers and communal farms established the ‘Humboldt County of Canada’ by crossing California genetics with imported Hindu Kush landraces. He outlines Antidote Processing’s co-packing and extraction hub in Nelson, BC, which supports seven local micro-cultivators transitioning into the legal Canadian market.
Tom Ritchie Says: What’s up, everyone? Welcome to another episode of Legacies! I’m your host, Tom Ritchie, joined by Wesley “The Wizard” Bowles. Wes, how are you doing today?
Wesley Bowles Says: Not too bad! Comfortable temperature inside, but it is muggy as hell out there.
Tom Ritchie Says: It’s officially June and the weather has been all over the place—hot one day, pouring rain the next. Growing up, I used to read the Farmer’s Almanac by the couch, wondering when planting season started. Now I get my weather knowledge from The Magic School Bus!
Wesley Bowles Says: Speaking of getting things dialed in, we have an important data correction to share with our audience regarding the OCS report.
Tom Ritchie Says: As an independent media platform, we pride ourselves on transparency and accountability. In Episode 13, when breaking down the recent OCS report, we misstated consumer purchasing channel metrics. Amanda Winton, Communications Manager at the OCS, kindly reached out to clarify the data.
Wesley Bowles Says: To set the record straight: the 54%, 30%, and 14% statistics did not represent market sales volume. In the survey, 25% of respondents identified cannabis sellers as their primary source of product information. Of that 25% subgroup, 54% went into physical stores for information, 30% visited OCS.ca, and 14% checked retailer websites.
Tom Ritchie Says: Furthermore, OCS.ca direct-to-consumer e-commerce represents less than 4% of total Ontario retail sales—not 30%. We appreciate the OCS team for engaging with us constructively, and we’re linking the full graphical report in the episode notes!
Tom Ritchie Says: The Stanley Cup Finals are underway, and the Edmonton Oilers are carrying the flag for Canada! No Canadian team has brought home Lord Stanley since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
Wesley Bowles Says: Our good friend Tyler over at Organics in Alberta is a die-hard Oilers fan. He was just nominated for 30 Under 30 and Processor of the Year at Grow Up, and his craft cultivars—Pineapple Express, Orange Sherbet, and Sweet Tooth—are absolute fire.
Tom Ritchie Says: Between playoff hockey and tweaking rib connective tissue doing morning chin-ups at the gym, summer is kicking off fast. What’s happening in space this week?
Wesley Bowles Says: SpaceX is launching Integrated Flight Test 4 of Starship tomorrow morning! It’s the largest, most powerful flying object ever built in human history.
Wesley Bowles Says: For Flight 4, the Super Heavy booster is attempting a controlled soft touchdown in the Gulf of Mexico targeting a virtual tower, while the Starship spacecraft will test its heat shield tiles during high-energy atmospheric reentry over the Indian Ocean near Hawaii.
Tom Ritchie Says: It’s mind-blowing that SpaceX now launches over 90% of all global mass sent to orbit, funded by Falcon 9 commercial missions and over 6,000 Starlink satellites providing high-speed mobile internet to RVs and cruise ships worldwide.
Tom Ritchie Says: Shifting to Canadian cannabis headlines: David Brown over at StratCann reported on a Health Canada recall involving iNaturally Organics (Emprise Canada) CBN/CBD soft gels.
Wesley Bowles Says: Health Canada issued the recall based on the presumed presence of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC)—a semi-synthetic cannabinoid—after receiving three consumer complaints across tens of thousands of distributed units. However, analytical lab testing conducted by accredited laboratories detected no evidence of HHC.
Tom Ritchie Says: Product recalls cause severe brand and financial damage to operators. More importantly, there remains a massive communication disconnect between Health Canada, provincial distributors, dispensaries, and end consumers. Beyond obscure government bulletin links, compliant retail platforms need direct, standardized digital notification systems to keep consumers properly informed.
Tom Ritchie Says: Today, we’re joined by Kevin McBride, co-founder of Kootenay’s Finest! The Kootenay region in British Columbia is the undisputed Humboldt County of Canada.
Wesley Bowles Says: In the late 1960s and 70s, draft dodgers and California back-to-the-land hippies settled in the secluded mountains west of the Rockies, crossing West Coast genetics with imported Hindu Kush landraces to establish the legendary ‘BC Bud’ reputation.
Tom Ritchie Says: For decades, the RCMP ‘Green Team’ raided mountain grows with helicopters and tactical repel teams, chopping and bleaching mature crops right before harvest. Let’s bring in Kevin McBride to hear how true Kootenay craft transitioned into the legal market!
Tom Ritchie Says: Welcome back! We are joined by Kevin McBride, co-founder, QA lead, and master cultivator at Kootenay’s Finest Craft Cannabis. Kevin, welcome to Legacies!
Kevin McBride Says: My pleasure, guys! Stoked to be here representing the Kootenays.
Tom Ritchie Says: You grew up in Vancouver and worked in the film industry for 15 years while growing legacy cannabis in basements and mountains with your hippie uncle. How did your family build Kootenay’s Finest?
Kevin McBride Says: My master grower and business partner of 30 years, Colie Maggi—a UK geneticist who worked with greenhouse legends in Holland and India—and I merged West Coast Grateful Dead culture with old-world breeding. We operate a 5,000 sq ft micro-cultivation facility (2,100 sq ft canopy) in the mountains, employing 15 local people in our small town.
Kevin McBride Says: We grow 100% in Living Soil Organics (LSO). We have reused the exact same living soil beds for over three years, feeding the microbiome with Brian C Sea Soil, Vancouver Island kelp, local organic amendments, and worm castings from the farm down the road. Health Canada demands sterile, stainless-steel pharmaceutical rooms, but living soil creates natural probiotics and micro-nutrients that produce authentic 3.5% to 4.5% terpene profiles!
Kevin McBride Says: We hand-tend, hand-water, and triple-prune every plant. After harvest, we run a cold 14-day slow dry at 59°F and 59% humidity, followed by a two-week cold cure and precision hand trim to prevent mold without destroying trichome heads.
Tom Ritchie Says: You also co-founded Antidote Processing to help independent growers in the Kootenays navigate the legal market. How does that work?
Kevin McBride Says: We partnered with Shannon Ross through Community Futures’ Cannabis Business Transition Initiative to establish Antidote Processing in Nelson, BC. Antidote acts as a shared packaging, extraction, and sales hub for seven licensed micro-cultivators across the Kootenays.
Kevin McBride Says: We package 3.5g, 14g, and 28g formats, roll craft pre-rolls, and operate a live rosin hash lab using Hash-Tek commercial equipment. Antidote handles distribution, AGCO/OCS listings, and sales rep management so our farmers can focus 100% on farming. We’ve also partnered with EastCann to bring our flower to Ontario (*Cereal Sunset*) and Atlantic Canada.
Tom Ritchie Says: Walk us through your signature living soil cultivars currently on market and what’s dropping next.
Kevin McBride Says: Our current core rotation includes Monkey Business (Grease Monkey x Red Hot—an ultra-gassy, heavy indica couch-lock), Zkittlez Plants (Zkittlez x Purple Panties—a sweet, fruity 50/50 daytime hybrid), and Purple Sirup (Purple Punch x Strawberry Syrup).
Kevin McBride Says: Dropping next, we have Platinum Skywalker (Skywalker OG x Blue Java x Platinum GSC), which features an intense natural roasted coffee and gas terpene profile dominated by farnesene and caryophyllene, alongside Purple Platinum (Platinum GSC x Gorilla Glue). We also export medical flower to Australia through Vitaco, where Australian physicians specifically seek out our living soil organic craft.
Wesley Bowles Says: Last week, Todd Neault of Rosin Heads left an anonymous question for you: “If you could change one single thing about the Canadian cannabis industry today for the better, what would it be?”
Kevin McBride Says: Cannabis regulation should be moved out of Health Canada and placed under the Ministry of Agriculture! We are growing an agricultural plant, not manufacturing synthetic pharmaceutical opioids. Moving to agricultural oversight would eliminate redundant red tape, reduce excessive excise taxation, and align compliance with real-world farming.
Tom Ritchie Says: What is your anonymous question for next week’s incoming guest?
Kevin McBride Says: “Do you truly care about organic living soil, and what you put into your body when consuming cannabis?”
Tom Ritchie Says: Kevin, thank you for keeping the true spirit of Kootenay craft alive! Make sure to look out for Kootenay’s Finest and Antidote across BC dispensaries, in Ontario via EastCann, and Australia. Check out our Kush Mountain Ontario giveaway on Instagram, subscribe on YouTube and Spotify, and we’ll see you next week on Legacies. Peace!
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Founder & Co-founder
Kevin McBride is a second-generation BC grower, founder of Kootenay's Finest, and co-founder of Antidote Processing.
View Guest Profile ↗Licensed Micro-Cultivator
Kootenay's Finest is a premium craft cannabis micro-cultivator located in the Kootenay region of British Columbia. Co-founded by Kevin McBride,...
Learn More About Partner ↗In the late 1960s and 1970s, Vietnam War draft dodgers and California hippies migrated to the Kootenays in British Columbia. They purchased cheap land and crossed California strains with landrace Hindu Kush seeds imported from India, establishing the globally recognized 'BC Bud' brand.
Antidote Processing acts as a centralized packaging, logistics, marketing, and hash extraction facility in Nelson, BC, helping local micro-growers transition from legacy models and bring their craft flower to the legal market.
The hosts clarified that brick-and-mortar retail stores drive the vast majority of sales in Ontario, with online ocs.ca purchases representing less than 4% of total sales (correcting a previous statement that online represented 30% of sales).
