Greenway Greenhouse acquires Choice Growers’ brands

Written by Staff on December 19, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Ontario, Producers.

Ontario-based Greenway Greenhouse Cannabis Corporation has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Choice Growers Cannabis Inc. to acquire the company’s consumer brands.

Under the December 17 purchase agreement, Greenway acquired all of Alberta-based Choice Growers‘ consumer packaged goods brands, SKUs and listings of the brands, trademarks, goodwill, and other associated intellectual property.

The deal includes a write-off for the amount Choice Growers owes Greenway and a royalty payment equal to varying percentages of net revenue over a period of six years.

The acquisition includes all of Choice Growers’ brands, including Grapefruit God Bud (also known as Grape God), The Jeffrey, Watermelon Pebbles, Pink Lemonade, Duke Nukem, Tangerine Dream, and Blackberry Cheesecake.

In a press release, Greenway says the acquisition will enable it to expand further into the CPG sector of the Canadian cannabis market and introduce its products to a broader audience nationwide.

Jamie D’Alimonte, CEO of Greenway, said: “Acquiring the brands from Choice Growers will help Greenway grow the number of SKUs we have in Ontario and bring Greenway products into new provinces. The Choice Growers team have built strong brands that have demonstrated real consumer appeal. As with many cannabis brands, future success will depend on delivering great products and ensuring they reach consumers at an affordable price.”

“We are excited to combine our high quality, low cost cultivation with the consumer brand recognition of Choice Growers’ products. Our team is looking forward to bringing these brands under the Greenway banner, to enhance profitability and introduce Greenway’s quality cannabis to new consumers across Canada.”

Greenway recently reported net revenue of $1.8 million in Q2 2025 but an operating loss of $770,347, and loss and comprehensive loss of $1 million.

Greenway’s primary business model is to cultivate, bulk package, and wholesale dry flower to other cannabis companies. In addition to wholesale sales, Greenway sells cannabis through its brands, EPIC Cannabis Co. and MillRite, with pre-rolls and 7-gram SKUs of flower. MillRite saw a 71% increase in total units sold from the previous quarter (Q1 2025).

The company has a licensed indoor nursery and a separate licensed greenhouse for standard cultivation. The nursery is currently used to store and maintain mother plants and genetics, and to propagate clones and vegetative plants for the greenhouse.

7-day suspension notice for Ontario retailer for third-party delivery service, selling cannabis outside province, more

Written by Staff on December 19, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Ontario, Retail.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has issued a Notice of Proposal to suspend the Cannabis Retail Store Authorization for 12473291 Canada Inc., operating as Montrose Cannabis in Pickering, Ontario.

The seven-day suspension has been proposed following AGCO inspections that revealed significant breaches of the Cannabis Licence Act, 2018 (CLA) and its regulations.

In May, AGCO inspectors attended the retail store located at 1755 Pickering Parkway and determined that the store had been unlawfully using a third-party delivery service – a violation of regulations under the CLA, which require that cannabis be delivered only by the licence-holder or an employee who has successfully completed the required education and training.

During that inspection, evidence was also discovered that the store had been unlawfully selling its product to customers in Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Quebec, and Yukon. Under the CLA, licensees are not permitted to sell cannabis outside of Ontario, which may also constitute a violation of the Cannabis Act (Canada).

Finally, Montrose Cannabis was also determined to have been selling cannabis in quantities exceeding the legal maximum of 30 grams of dried cannabis or its equivalent in a single transaction.

The AGCO says it worked with the licensee to educate them on their obligations and to bring them into compliance. Inspectors conducted a follow-up inspection last month, where it was determined that despite a commitment to coming into compliance, the licensee had continued to operate in violation of the CLA.

An establishment served with a Notice of Proposal has the right to appeal to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), an adjudicative tribunal independent of the AGCO and part of Tribunals Ontario.

The AGCO says it will continue to take all appropriate actions to ensure compliance and that the safety of Ontarians is not jeopardized.

“Cannabis retail laws and regulations are in place to protect the public and ensure the legal cannabis market operates responsibly,” said Dr. Karin Schnarr, registrar and CEO of AGCO. “When licensees fail to meet their obligations, the AGCO will take decisive action to uphold the integrity of Ontario’s cannabis retail system.”

Nick Baksh, the founder of Montrose Cannabis, tells StratCann says Ontario retailers need more delivery options.

“Alberta and British Columbia allow cannabis retailers to offer parcel delivery, but Ontario lags behind in making cannabis accessible—particularly in rural areas. This gap is pushing consumers back to the illicit market. If the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) can ship products directly, why can’t licensed retailers?

“I’ve raised this issue with the Minister of Finance, the Attorney General, local policymakers, and even the mayor, but no progress has been made,” he adds. “Allowing licensed retailers to ship directly to customers would not only curb the illicit market but also enhance public health and safety while fostering healthy competition in the industry.”

If a cannabis retail licence is suspended, the store must post a sign about the suspension in a place where people can easily see it from outside the store.

The AGCO also recently issued a $100,000 fine to a retail chain for disallowed “data deals” that amounted to paying for shelf space.

This article has been updated to include comments from Montrose Cannabis.

Featured image via Google Maps.

BC’s third cannabis farmgate store plans to open in early 2025

Written by David Brown on December 18, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Producers.

BC’s third cannabis farmgate store received provincial approval recently, with plans to welcome customers in the new year.

Weeds International Inc., a micro cultivator in Pitt Meadows, BC, received its producer retail store licence, i.e. cannabis farmgate, from the BC government on Friday, December 13, after a lengthy application approval process.

In addition to their micro cultivation site, Weeds’ owners Don and Devon Briere and Carol Gwilt also operate retail locations in Vancouver and Sechelt. The Weeds brand has been part of BC cannabis culture for more than two decades, with a former chain of retail stores that operated across the province years before legalization.

Weeds’ new farmgate licence is the third such licence issued in the province since it began accepting applications for Producer Retail Stores (PRS) in November 2022. Only three companies have applied for such a licence. The province has also licensed two similar stores, one in Williams Lake and one in Chilliwack, under special arrangements with local First Nations called Section 119 agreements.

The company is now waiting on their final business licence from the city of Pitt Meadows, where they are located.

Gwilt says she and the Brieres were very excited to get the final provincial approval. They are now working on putting the final touches on the store, with the goal of a soft launch in February.

“It’s been a vision for a long time for us,” she tells StratCann. “To be able to grow and sell and share weed with our community is an honour. We love being in Pitt Meadows and we’re happy to have the community come to our farm and experience this with us.”

Don Briere says the Weeds team has several other pieces of the puzzle they hope to bring about later in 2025, including an outdoor consumption space and, more long term, the possibility of a more focussed tourist experience by creating nearby guest houses, where people can visit their farm and buy and sample products over several days.

“It’s been a long time coming; there’s been a lot of slowdown and turns and roadblocks, but we’re here now,” says Briere. We just have to persist and keep on truckin’.”

BC’s first cannabis farmgate location, ShuCanna, located in Salmon Arm, opened in the summer of 2023. The second, the Victoria Cannabis Co (VCC), opened its cannabis farmgate store in October 2024 after a lengthy approval process with the city.

Ontario was the first to launch its farmgate program in 2021, licensing the first two locations on April 20 of that year. As of May 2024, Ontario listed five fully licensed farmgate locations. New Brunswick became the second province to announce a cannabis farmgate program, also in 2021, allowing for “on-site selling of in-house products for local LPs, nurseries, and micros.” The province currently lists seven such locations.

Cannabis farmgate in Canada: From farm to joint

September 13, 2024

Legacy era retailer Weeds celebrates their new Vancouver location

December 4, 2021

Canadian retailer Weeds opening California location

April 28, 2022

Federal government “exploring” single harmonized cannabis excise stamp

Written by David Brown on December 16, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government.

The federal government will explore a single, harmonized federal excise duty stamp as part of a red tape reduction measure outlined in its 2024 Fall Economic Statement.

More info on the proposal is expected as part of Budget 2025, which is anticipated in February 2025.

The move from requiring producers to use 13 different provincial and territorial excise tax stamps to a single, harmonized stamp is something the industry has said would save cannabis producers time and money. In a meeting in October, The Cannabis Council of Canada (C3) called for such changes, saying they would go a long way toward addressing some of the logistical challenges the current tax stamp program creates.

Paul McCarthy, the president of C3, says he’s happy to see the government acknowledging the issue, but is frustrated that this announcement used a lot of vague wording rather than committing to immediate action.

“What they should be doing is implementing this,” says McCarthy. “It will help businesses. There’s no downside for anybody anywhere, but they still want to wring their hands and look at it more. Talk about a government that is not in touch with the needs of the sector.”

McCarthy adds that he was cautiously optimistic that the fall 2024 statement would have included some movement on the tax, but also acknowledges that expectations have been low due to the complexity of such a change. Although the industry has been asking for the excise rate to be lowered, many in the industry say a single stamp would at least relieve some of the financial burdens associated with the current stamp regime.

“To cut red tape for growing businesses and help them to succeed, the 2024 Fall Economic Statement also announces the government’s intent to explore a transition from cannabis excise duty stamps specific to each province and territory to a single, national stamp. This would make it easier for regulated cannabis producers to ignite new business opportunities in other provinces. More details will roll out in Budget 2025.”

In a post on C3’s website, McCarthy added: “The government’s continued neglect of the cannabis sector is alarming. Their unfair taxation policies are creating an unsustainable environment for legal businesses, forcing many to close their doors and driving consumers back to the illicit market.”

Earlier this year, Orville Bovenschen, President of Pure Sunfarms, told StratCann that such a move could save his company around a million dollars a year. However, these savings would not be limited to just larger companies like Pure Sunfarms.

“It’s not just us,” said Bovenschen. “If you look at small producers, medium-sized producers, it’s very complicated for them as well. A change like this can make it easier for us to operate and become more profitable. I think this is much easier to achieve before we get to the bigger issue of the excise tax itself.”

While changing the actual excise rate is complicated, he added, solutions like these could make more sense in the more immediate term.

“I think it could be an achievable win. Nothing is easy but I think it can be a much needed win for everybody. For the government, for us. I don’t think there’s a single person that isn’t aligned with this idea of having one single stamp for the entire industry.”

Janeen Davis, VP of sales at DEALR Cannabis (formerly JVCC), which distributes cannabis, often from micro cultivators and processors, in BC and Ontario, says the change will definitely help the company save time and money, even if it doesn’t go as far as she would like to see in terms of lowering the actual excise rate itself.

“We spend so much time just managing our stamp inventory for the provinces,” explains Davis. “Managing stamp inventory can be a major administrative burden to all processors in Canada, and I think if there were just one excise stamp, it would be something to celebrate.”

Gord Nichol, the owner of North 40 Cannabis, a micro producer in Saskatchewan, says the move doesn’t address “the giant elephant in the room” that is the need for lowering the excise rate itself, especially for smaller producers like his company.

“Excise tax reduction for micro processors is the only issue that might save me”, Nichol tells StratCann.

Such a move would require the support of the provinces, who receive 75% of every dollar the federal government collects from the federal excise tax.

Some in the industry, speaking with StratCann strictly on background, have also suggested that the recent stepping down of Chrystia Freeland from the role of Finance Minister could bode well for efforts at lowering the excise rate itself. In the past, some have suggested that Freeland was one of the main last-minute impediments to such changes in previous federal budgets.

$11 billion in cannabis sales has created 151,000 new jobs and added $43.5 billion to Canada’s GDP

February 1, 2022

Streamlining excise stamps could go a long way to relieving regulatory burden, costs

October 10, 2024

The rocky road to excise duty reform

February 28, 2024

Health Canada may request supporting evidence for some medical cannabis authorizations

Written by David Brown on December 16, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government.

Health Canada recently sent a memo to provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons, advising them that it may contact health care practitioners to ask for evidence to support the amount of cannabis they have authorized for their patients.

The memo includes information highlighting the regulator’s ongoing efforts since 2019 to address authorizations of large amounts of cannabis several times over the industry average.

Reads the document, in part: “In an effort to facilitate the application process for patients, we would like to take this opportunity to advise you that the Department may contact health care practitioners to ask for evidence to support the amount of cannabis that they have authorized for their patient. This information may include data, references, or resources to support the authorized daily quantity. This evidence will support the Department in assessing the risk to public health or public safety before making a final decision on the application.”

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM) recently shared that it was asking its members to review the recent updates from Health Canada.

It’s not the first time Health Canada has sent notices to provincial colleges of physicians informing them of health care practitioners connected to numerous high gram-a-day authorizations. In 2020, the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons levied a $15,000 disciplinary action against a Saskatchewan doctor found to be profiting from issuing medical cannabis licences in 2018.

In 2021, a medical cannabis patient who had been authorized 100 grams a day had a court reject an allowance for the patient to possess up to 1,000 grams in public at a time.

In a memo from October 2022, Health Canada said that since it began a new process to address high authorization amounts through the program, the agency had observed a decrease of more than 50% in the number of individuals registering to produce cannabis for medical purposes.

The memo continued that in September 2021, approximately 47,000 individuals registered with Health Canada. By September 30, 2022, the number of registered individuals had dropped to approximately 21,700. As of March 2024, it was 15,726, although numbers began to show an uptick after several years of decline.

The regulator has also refused or revoked over 1,400 registrations, including more than 700 for public health and safety reasons. This represents a 113% increase in refusals and revocations and a 423% increase in the number of refusals and revocations made on the grounds of public health and public safety since March 2022.

While 4,728 healthcare practitioners were associated with registrations made with federally licensed sellers in the previous twelve months, 1,105 were associated with active personal/designated production registrations.

Of those 1,015, there were 233 healthcare practitioners associated with authorizing amounts equal to or above 25 grams per day, and just ten who authorized amounts equal to or above 100 grams per day.

Most (78%) healthcare practitioners who authorized more than 25 grams a day were in BC or Ontario. All who authorized more than 100 grams a day were in BC and Ontario. An authorization of 100 grams a day would equate to a limit of 487 plants at any given time. Such licences can also be combined to up to four per location, meaning a designated grower with several authorizations could be growing hundreds or even thousands of cannabis plants with the potential to produce in the hundreds of kilograms of cannabis a year.

Active medical registrations with LPs continue to decline, while personal and designated increase

April 6, 2022

Alberta finds doctor guilty of professional misconduct over medical cannabis authorizations

April 14, 2022

Health Canada referral leads to large cannabis seizure at former designated medical cannabis production site

December 12, 2024

Week in Weed – December 14, 2024

Written by Staff on December 14, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This past week in weed, StratCann looked at how the Canada Post strike is affecting medical cannabis access, a group in BC is looking at the long-term effects of cannabis remediation, and a credit union in BC is helping producers survive in a challenging landscape.

We also explored how researchers in Saskatchewan are looking at how edibles can impact driving, and we reported on how the Federal government was unable to implement an “ambitious” program to better streamline cannabis pardons.

In financial news, a court rejected Final Bell’s equity claims against BZAM’s monitor and again extended the stay of proceedings, and Galaxie Brands announced that they have successfully exited the CCAA process.

In law enforcement news, a Health Canada referral led to a large cannabis seizure at a former designated medical cannabis production site in Ontario, and the CBSA and RCMP seized 45 kg of cannabis destined for the Netherlands. Police in Ontario also recently recovered stolen cannabis.

In other Canadian cannabis news

The federal government ordered the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to send Canada Post employees back to work if an agreement is not reached soon with their employer.

Tilray Brands, Inc. announced a new Holiday campaign highlighting a series of cannabis-infused beverages from two of its beverage brands, XMG and Mollo, and its JUICED XTREME Resin Infused Pre-rolls.

On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, prior to market opening, Organigram Holdings Inc. will report earnings results for its fourth quarter and fiscal 2024 ended September 30, 2024.

High Tide Inc. announced that its Canna Cabana retail cannabis store, located at 5921 Perth Street, Richmond, Ontario, will open on Saturday, December 14. This opening will mark High Tide’s 189th Canna Cabana-branded retail cannabis location in Canada and the 75th in Ontario.

The OCS shares some of its best sellers in 2024.

The Institute for Work and Health released a report on Cannabis use by workers before and after legalization in Canada.

An Ontario court of appeals judge rejected an appeal by Aphria of a previous summary judgment for the rent owing of $638,171.40 plus interest and for future rent as it came due for commercial office premises in downtown Toronto that it vacated three years into a ten year lease. Aphria is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tilray

Cannara Biotech will host an investor webcast on Thursday, December 19th, 2024.

The Yukon government recently posted the Happy Trails Cannabis’ licence application public notice. Public feedback is open until December 27, 2024. The proposed location is 516 Adela Trail, Watson Lake, Yukon.

CannExpo is coming to Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Building at Exhibition Place on March 21-22, 2025.

International cannabis news

The BBC went inside the UK’s ‘secret’ £10m medicinal cannabis factory.

In November, Philadelphia CBP officers continued to seize London-bound cannabis after grabbing a combined 179 Pounds. The parcels were being shipped from multiple addresses in California to various addresses in the UK.

And finally, research from Harvard reveals the cannabis market’s evolution has outpaced US regulations.

New retail cannabis project in Germany could be good news for Canadian cannabis exporters

Written by David Brown on December 13, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International, Retail.

New changes to cannabis regulations in Germany could be good news for Canadian cannabis exporters, say some in the industry.

A new research project could allow for cannabis to be sold in retail stores in up to 25 different German cities, supplied by authorized cannabis wholesalers in the country.

The program will allow applications for retail, adult-use, and non-medical cannabis sales in partnership with German municipalities and supply partners, with a focus on research.

Because the program is built around scientific research, it will also avoid EU and UN restrictions that would otherwise prevent the import of cannabis from outside of Germany, says Finn Age Hänsel, managing director and founder of Sanity Group GmbH, a cannabis-focused company based in Berlin. Similar to EU and UN rules, Health Canada only allows the export of cannabis for medical or research purposes.

Sanity Group operates as a wholesaler in Germany’s medical cannabis market, as well as partaking in a similar retail pilot project in the Netherlands. As such, Hänsel says he’s already in the process of securing supply deals with different international cannabis brands, from suppliers ranging from their partner Organigram to independent Canadian producers like Cake and Caviar, Lyonleaf, and Miracle Valley, and US brands like Kalifa Mints and Alien Labs.

Sanity Group announced the completion of an investment from Organigram’s Jupiter Fund earlier this year.

Hänsel says there’s a demand in the market for both value-priced and craft products, noting that this is an opportunity for any Canadian craft growers who want to see their products sold through the pilot project.

“To be honest, because I am an enthusiast myself, I would rather work with smaller companies who really have an eye on quality and are craft cannabis producers compared to working with large companies,” says Hänsel.

“I like some of the large companies. We let Organigram invest because we like them. But in general I think we are a company who [prefers] the smaller growers.”

The research side of the project, he explains, will require customers to register with the company and fill out surveys on their consumption habits at six-month intervals. This research will be collected over two years in a five-year project, seeking to better understand the public health impacts of such a model.

The research will be in coordination with local universities and the municipalities in which they are located. Cities will also receive €0.50-€1 per gram of cannabis sold from the stores under their purview. He expects cannabis to be sold for around €10 a gram, which he says is similar to typical black market prices. One Euro is about $1.50 Canadian.

Deepak Anand, a Canadian industry consultant who assists cannabis companies with exports, also sees significant potential for Canadian growers if the pilot project is successful.

“If this is couched as a scientific research project then it would meet the definition of medical or scientific purposes. Why I think this is important for Canadian companies is this would allow them to sell cannabis for both medical and scientific purposes. So I think it opens up and expands the reach of our market.”

Although Hänsel is unsure what types of cannabis products they will be allowed to sell in their stores, if licensed, he hopes to offer dried flower and edibles, with a focus on seeing if survey respondents report moving from mixing cannabis with tobacco to using cannabis only, or even shifting from inhalation to edibles.

The change was announced on December 11, when the German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BMEL) was tasked by the German Parliament (the Bundestag) with appointing the responsible body for processing research applications on consumer cannabis and industrial hemp.

The regulation that has now been issued—the Consumer Cannabis Science Responsibility Regulation—requires the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food to examine relevant research applications and monitor the approved projects.

This moves this specific type of work away from the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), which remains the responsible authority for research into medical cannabis.

Germany legalized cannabis in March 2024. The law came into effect in two main phases: the first phase, which allowed for personal cannabis cultivation and possession, came into force on April 1, and cultivation clubs were allowed in July.

Phase two was supposed to allow for a medical sales model, but shifting domestic politics appears to have slowed that process down. That delay caused the German Parliament to create this new enactment that will allow the retail cannabis pilot project.

Because the new pilot project was created as an enactment of parliament rather than as legislation, Hänsel says a new government could stop the project, but he does not believe any applications already approved and initiated can be stopped.

His own organization plans to apply very soon, and facing several months of application process and site selection and other logistical issues, he encourages others to do the same.

“If you don’t get the applications in December, it will be very tight to be approved before the new government has formed.”

Featured image sourced from Sanity Group / Grashaus Projects – www.grashausprojects.ch ©

How the Canada Post strike is affecting medical cannabis access

Written by Jonathan Hiltz on December 12, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government.

As the Canada Post strike nears its 4-week mark, it has created a ripple effect across the country, disrupting the delivery of countless essential goods and services at the busiest time of year.

For many Canadians, the strike has been an inconvenience; for others, particularly those who rely on medical cannabis, it has become a critical issue.

Medical cannabis patients, many of whom depend on reliable and timely delivery for symptom management, are now facing significant delays and uncertainties. Canada Post remains the primary shipping method for the majority of licensed cannabis producers, and the strike has exposed vulnerabilities in the supply chain, leaving patients scrambling for alternatives.

“This strike has added another layer of complexity to an already difficult medical cannabis access process”
Dr. Karolina Urban, Avicanna

This disruption has not only delayed access to medication but has also raised questions about the resilience of Canada’s medical cannabis system. With limited options for same-day or in-person delivery in many regions, patients have found themselves stuck in a system unprepared for such logistical challenges.

“It’s another hurdle in an already complicated system,” said Ajay Chahal, Pharmacist and Co-Founder of Apothecare, a company that consults with both patients and doctors on cannabis access and use. “Medical patients who are enrolled with an LP and a doctor who prescribes [are experiencing] delays in getting access to their cannabis.”

Chahal added that various LPs are switching to Purolator and other delivery services, but because of the Canada Post strike, there have been significant delays even with those companies as they are overrun.

A further wrinkle are customers who don’t have a traditional address to deliver to. This has been an issue with providers including Avicanna, a biopharma company based in Toronto.

“This strike has added another layer of complexity to an already difficult medical cannabis access process,” said Dr. Karolina Urban, Avicanna’s executive VP of Medical Affairs. “One of the biggest issues is patients who are in areas where delivery is only available to PO boxes, currently serviced by Canada Post.”

“I see medical patients just leaving altogether, especially if they are more elderly. They need access, and if they are not getting it, if it’s getting delayed, or not coming at all, they will need to get it somewhere. Once they see how it’s easily accessible they might not come back.”
Ajay Chahal, Apothecare

Confusion and the illicit market

One of the challenges that comes along with Canadians not being able to access their cannabis prescriptions is that they are forced to seek out alternatives by using recreational stores. “If the products are not the same, there might be some difficulty in making sure they transition to an equivalent product,” said Chahal.

He added that a further issue lies within the ongoing illicit market retailers. Some patients have trouble determining the difference between legal and illegal stores, both in-person and online, and some access illicit market cannabis unknowingly.

“Black market stores are rampant. A lot of my patients had no idea they were going into a black market store or ordering online from a black market store. We [then] help navigate them to a legal store.”

Confusion over where to get products during this time aside, the strike is also not helping the growth of the medical cannabis sector in Canada at a time when that part of the industry could use some expansion. Active client registrations for medical cannabis with a federal license holder have gone from 345,520 in 2018 to 180,878 in 2024.

“I see medical patients just leaving altogether, especially if they are more elderly. If they’re dealing with pain and a lot of significant conditions, they can’t just stop. They need access, and if they are not getting it, if it’s getting delayed, or not coming at all, they will need to get it somewhere. Once they see how it’s easily accessible they might not come back.”

As for the effect this will have on the cannabis sector and its reliance on Canada Post, Urban believes the landscape will change out of pure necessity for patients to receive their medicine. This however, will come at a cost.

“We believe many companies will move away from primarily relying on Canada Post,” she said. “Unfortunately, the reality is that the cost of shipping with alternative carriers is still higher and this will ultimately impact patients.”

An ounce of prevention

Nothing can stop the current situation regarding the Canada Post strike this time around. But is there a way the government and the industry can put something in place to ensure the medical cannabis sector is not affected if and when this happens again? Chahal believes there is.

“I would like to see the government integrating medical and retail. That would be a fantastic way to solve access issues,” he said. “What that could mean is patients being able to access medical prescriptions at retail stores. There would have to be additional checks and balances [like the] integration of healthcare professionals in the retail stream, but the infrastructure is there.”

Cannabis industry takes steps to manage Canada Post strike

November 18, 2024

How long until Canadians can access medical cannabis in pharmacies?

June 10, 2024

Active medical registrations with LPs continue to decline, while personal and designated increase

April 6, 2022

BC’s Community Savings provides support for cannabis industry

Written by David Brown on December 9, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News.

BC’s Community Savings Credit Union president and CEO Mike Schilling says his phone has been ringing off the hook with queries from cannabis businesses following a recent announcement that the lending institution had entered into credit agreements for a $10 million loan to BC cannabis producer Rubicon Organics.

The agreements, or credit facilities, will help Rubicon repay a US$8 million bond in full, which was set to mature on December 31, 2024. That bond, a secured debenture, was owed to an investment group, Green Island Investments Ltd.

“To be honest, my phone has been ringing off the hook since Rubicon made this announcement because this is a close-knit industry and we’ve got lots of cannabis businesses across Canada calling us,” Schilling tells StratCann.

He says the deal represents an example of the services the credit union can provide cannabis businesses of all kinds, not only in British Columbia but from across Canada through its partnership with groups like We Can Capital. Rather than seeing this as a unique offering for a cannabis business, he says it’s an example of the industry beginning to normalize, as these types of deals are common in many other industries.

“Cannabis businesses don’t have access to normal banking facilities that other businesses have,” Schilling adds. “And that’s been our mission from day one, to provide some normalcy. We’re not providing anything special, we’re just trying to provide them with banking services that everyone else has access to. And that starts with basic banking services.”

Regarding the deal, Janis Risbin, CFO at Rubicon, said: “We are pleased to announce the establishment of our new Credit Facilities, which underscores our commitment to strengthening our financial position and supporting our strategic growth initiatives. Our new Credit Facilities enhance our liquidity and provide us with the flexibility to invest in key projects that will drive long-term value for our shareholders. We believe that this strategic move positions us well to navigate the evolving market landscape and capitalize on future opportunities.”

Community Savings is the largest provider of banking services in BC for cannabis businesses and, as such, treats the industry like any other, adds Schilling.

“One of the commitments that Community Savings makes is not only are we going to provide these sorts of services, but we’re not going to charge a premium because you’re a cannabis business. We like working with cannabis businesses. We understand them, and they’ll pay the same rate as any other business in other industries.”

One of the issues cannabis businesses are often not aware of, he points out, is that they can leverage their assets, be it land, a facility, or equipment, to gain more access to working capital. One example of those services is Community Savings, which provides invoice factoring to cannabis producers. This can help these businesses leverage sales into provincial markets, speeding up payment options that sometimes take weeks or months from the provincial distribution boards.

Week in Weed – December 7, 2024

Written by Staff on December 7, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This week at StratCann, the biggest news was probably Organigram acquiring Motif Labs, followed by the release of Health Canada’s 2024 Canadian Cannabis Survey.

We also spoke with the OCS’ Dr. Jenna Valleriana about mindful cannabis use over the holidays and looked into a recent amendment to PEI’s vaping legislation.

On December 1 we dropped our monthly cannabis jobs report, and we spoke with a group seeking to enrol 1,000 Canadian medical cannabis patients for an observational study.

In financial news, Nova Scotia sold $32.6 million worth of cannabis in Q2 2024, High Tide is expanding its Cabana Club to an international market, and a judge rejected Final Bell’s equity claims against BZAM monitor, extending the stay of proceedings once again.

In other cannabis news

Niagara College is studying electrical conductivity and its importance in producing healthy, happy cannabis plants.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM) is asking its members to review the recent updates from Health Canada regarding authorized cannabis for medical use. The memo notes that Health Canada may contact CPSM registrants directly to request evidence supporting the amount of cannabis authorized for a particular patient.

Almost five months into its court-appointed receivership, Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. creditors will have a chance to vote on the Manitoba company’s plan of arrangement later this month, reports the Winnipeg Free Press. SNDL Inc., which holds about $40 million in secured debt, will be paid in full. Co-founder John Arbuthnot said a deal should be closed on Delta 9’s 100,000-square-foot cultivation hub (with its 297 production pods) by mid-January. In November, Delta 9 selected a bidder for 17 of those grow pods.

Pure Sunfarms announced a new infused 2.1 gram Canna Czar twax blunt from Soar.

Avicanna Inc. announced the initial delivery of its topical products into Europe as a part of a previously announced exclusive supply agreement with a multinational pharmaceutical company. The company plans to launch products in six European countries during 2025 with expectations of further expansion throughout the European region shortly after. The products use CBD and CBG from Avicanna’s majority-owned subsidiary, Santa Marta Golden Hemp S.A.S., in Santa Marta, Colombia.

Canopy Growth Corporation will complete its acquisition of Acreage Holdings on or around December 9, 2024, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain closing conditions.

Canopy also announced the launch of two holiday-inspired cannabis products from Tweed, including a sugar-free Cranberry Ginger Ale and Tweed Snowtorious 91K flower.

Several media outlets ran a story on new products available at the OCS for the holidays.

The New Brunswick Telegraph Journal ran a piece on the testing results of cannabis vape pens (covered by StratCann in October) by RPC in New Brunswick. The article also includes new comments regarding ongoing questions in the province around jurisdictional authority for the province’s retail regulations, with comments from former NB public safety minister Kris Austin, RCMP Cpl. Hans Ouellette, and Health Canada.

Rubicon Organics Inc. announced that it has entered into credit agreements where it has borrowed an aggregate of $10 million from Community Savings Credit Union and another lender.

Decibel Cannabis Company Inc. received final acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange for its previously announced acquisition of AgMedica Bioscience Inc.

A causality analysis of legal recreational cannabis sales and opioid-related mortality in the five years following cannabis legalization in Canada found no support for that hypothesis while looking at British Columbia, Ontario, or at the national level.

Halifax CBSA officers seized a suitcase containing 20 kilograms of cannabis on a flight to the UK on Monday, December 2, and arrested an Ontario man, Alessandro Pinchera, 21, of Richmond Hill.

International cannabis news

Many people again gathered in Las Vegas during the annual MJBizCon.

The USDEA’s hearings on cannabis rescheduling will begin on January 21, 2025, continuing through March 6, meeting twice a week save for a one-week break in February. Presenters will include Village Farms International, the parent company of Pure Sunfarms in Delta, BC.

Queensland doctors and pharmacists want medicinal cannabis removed from the special access scheme, saying the pathway is being used to bypass TGA assessment. The letter was co-signed by AMA Queensland, the state branches of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, and RANZCP, reports AusDoc.com.

Uruguay’s Cannabis Regulation and Control Institute (IRCCA) is recruiting a junior lawyer for its legal team.

Politico spoke with Brian Hanna, executive director of Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency, on the successes and challenges of the state’s legalization efforts, five years in. And finally, Texas Governor Dan Patrick announced he’s launched a legislative initiative to ban all THC being sold in Texas.

Health Canada: Only about 5% of cannabis purchases in Canada come from irregular sources

Written by David Brown on December 6, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Research.

The vast majority of cannabis purchases in Canada continue to come from legal sources, according to Health Canada’s annual cannabis survey.

The amount commonly spent per month on cannabis decreased from $73 in 2018 to $63 in 2024 but was unchanged from 2023.

The 2024 Canadian Cannabis Survey highlights ongoing trends among cannabis consumers in the country, documenting not only sources of cannabis but also topics such as consumption habits and perceptions of cannabis risks.

Smoking cannabis remains the most common way Canadians consume the product, but the proportion who report smoking cannabis has declined by twenty percentage points since legalization began.

In 2018, 89% of cannabis consumers reported smoking cannabis, a number that has declined to 69% in the last two years of the federal government’s annual Canadian Cannabis Survey.

Eating cannabis products was the second most common mode of consumption (57%, up from 43% in 2018) according to data collected from April 4 to July 2, 2024, while vaporizing (including vaping dried cannabis and/or liquid or solid cannabis extracts) accounted for 37% of reported consumption.

The number of people who reported getting their cannabis from a legal source in the first half of 2024 remained the same as the previous year at about 72%, up from just 37% in 2019.

Only 3% of respondents in the survey reported getting their cannabis from an illegal source, while 15% said they obtained their cannabis from a social source like a friend or family member, and 2% reported getting their cannabis from a storefront located in a First Nations community. Such stores generally operate outside the scope of provincial licensing regimes and have proliferated in recent years.

Those who reported using cannabis at least once in the previous 12 months increased from 22% in 2018 to 26% in 2024, but this number was unchanged from 26% in 2023. Similarly, those who reported using cannabis at least once in the past 30 days increased slightly from 15% in 2018 to 17% in 2024 but was unchanged from 17% in 2023.

Only 6% of the population in Canada reported using cannabis on a daily or almost daily basis, up slightly from 5% in 2018 but unchanged from 6% in 2023. These daily or nearly-daily users represented 24% of all people in Canada who reported consuming cannabis in the past 12 months, relatively unchanged from 25% in 2018 and 23% in 2023.

The number of people who reported using cannabis before driving (18%) increased slightly from the year prior (15% in 2023) but is still lower than the 27% who reported doing so in 2018. This included 16% who reported driving within 2 hours of smoking or vapourizing cannabis and 10% who reported driving within 4 hours of ingesting cannabis.

Of those who reported using cannabis in the past 12 months, 78% said they believe that cannabis use impairs one’s ability to drive, while 13% responded that it depends, and 6% responded that it did not impair one’s ability to drive.

Recent figures from the Canadian Community Health Survey released in October showed that the population of those over 18 in Canada who reported using cannabis in the past 12 months and those who reported that they had used cannabis daily or almost daily in the past 12 months declined in 2023 after four years of annual growth.

Cannabis sales in Canada also appear to reflect these self-reported figures, with sales beginning to level out after five years of year-over-year growth.

The Canadian Cannabis Survey was launched in 2017 and has been conducted annually since 2018 to create a better understanding of cannabis use and consumption habits in Canada in the wake of the legalization of non-medical cannabis in October 2018.

New Canadian Cannabis Surveys shows little has changed in past year

December 23, 2021

Legal market continues to eat into illicit market in Canada while reported cannabis use remains the same

January 12, 2024

Are Canadians consuming less weed?

October 3, 2024

Court rejects Final Bell’s equity claims against BZAM monitor, again extends stay of proceedings

Written by Sarah Clark on December 6, 2024. Posted in Business, Financials, Producers.

A judge has approved a motion to extend the stay of proceedings between Final Bell and BZAM, and has been again postponed, this time to January 13, 2025. The court ruled that Final Bell’s equity claim falls behind the claims of all other creditors.

The court also approved a motion to authorize the bankruptcy filing of cannabis cultivator 9430-6347 Québec Inc. to file an assignment in bankruptcy. The company’s federal cannabis licence was listed as revoked on request earlier this year.

The monitor in the case involving the dispute between BZAM and Final Bell Holdings, Cortland Credit Lending Corporation, had asked the court for a declaration that the claims of Final Bell against BZAM are subordinate to Cortland’s claims against BZAM.

Cortland argued, and the court agreed, that the trial of Final Bell’s claim will likely be moot “as there will be no cash proceeds available to which the constructive trust could attach.”

Final Bell had opposed that motion and argued that it should have been entitled to the opportunity to prove its fraudulent misrepresentation claim. Final Bell says that BZAM made fraudulent misrepresentations to it that Final Bell relied on when the company entered into a share exchange agreement with BZAM. It also alleged that Cortland was aware of those fraudulent misrepresentations.

The judge rejected these claims, siding with the monitor.

The case surrounds BZAM’s announcement in late 2023 that it would be acquiring Final Bell, which was quickly followed by BZAM filing for and receiving CCAA protection a few months later in February 2024. Final Bell argues the CCAA filing contradicts assurances BZAM had given the company before signing the agreement.

That deal saw BZAM acquiring Final Bell Canada by issuing $13.5 million in equity in BZAM and granting Final Bell $8 million in promissory notes. At the time, the deal was said to make BZAM the fifth-largest Canadian LP.

Final Bell reacted to BZAM’s announcement at the time by saying it believes that the company’s initiation of CCAA Proceedings constituted an “improper use of creditor protection legislation to evade its creditors, defraud shareholders, and facilitate a related party going private transaction at an unjustified discounted value in order to circumvent a customary going private transaction requiring shareholder and creditor approval.”

“There is a second principal reason that Final Bell’s claim, even if ultimately successful, cannot rank in priority to the super priority DIP Lender’s Charge of Cortland,” writes the judge. “The claim of Final Bell is an “equity claim” as defined in the CCAA. As such, the claim of Final Bell ranks behind the claims of all creditors, not just creditors with court-ordered priority charges.”

“In asserting its late-breaking claim for a constructive trust, Final Bell is seeking to elevate what is inescapably an equity claim into a claim of not only a creditor, but a first-ranking creditor with priority over the Court-ordered super priority DIP Lender’s Charge. Such is expressly not permitted under the CCAA, within which the definition of “equity claims” should be given an expansive interpretation.”

However, the judge was also careful to note that he was not making any determination about the merits of Final Bell’s fraudulent misrepresentation claim against BZAM, but that if such a claim were successful, there would be no assets left over to address any findings in their favour.

As Cortland’s motion was successful, it is entitled to its costs of $150,000 inclusive of fees, disbursements, and HST, to be paid by Final Bell within 30 days of December 2, 2024.

Nova Scotia sells $32.6 million worth of cannabis in Q2 2024

Written by David Brown on December 3, 2024. Posted in Business, Financials, Government, Retail.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) saw $32.6 million in cannabis sales in the three months ended September 29, 2024 (Q2 2024), a 3.9% increase from one year prior.

Cannabis sales were slightly up from the previous quarter’s $31.2 million, as well.

Cannabis sales were about 13% of the NSLC’s total sales for the quarter. Sales of cannabis from Nova Scotia cannabis companies decreased 10.1% in Q2 2024 to $9.2 million. Local sales decreased by 1.4%, to $9.3 million, or a little under one third of all cannabis sales in the previous quarter, as well. Nova Scotia cannabis accounted for 28.3% of all cannabis sales in the most recent quarter.

“This quarter we saw a slight increase in sales overall,” said Greg Hughes, President and CEO. “Cannabis, along with the ready-to-drink category, continues to perform well and is leading this growth.”

Retail customer transactions for cannabis increased by 3.4% between July 1 and September 29, 2024, and the average dollar value of each transaction was $37.22, an increase of 0.5%.

The average price per gram for cannabis decreased by 2% to $5.88, down slightly from $5.90 in the previous quarter.

Health Canada currently lists 33 active cannabis production licenses in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia has 50 licensed cannabis stores. In the NSLC’s 2023 annual report released earlier this year, they said that 79% of Nova Scotians lived within 10 kilometres of a licensed cannabis store.

The agency says all its profits go back to the provincial government to help fund “key public services.”

Cannabis sales continue to increase in Nova Scotia

October 24, 2023

Cannabis sales continue to increase in Nova Scotia, with local products now more than 30% of sales

August 25, 2023

Canadians bought more than $16 billion worth of cannabis in the first five years of legalization

January 8, 2024

Cannabis Jobs Update – December 2024

Written by Staff on December 1, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News.

As 2024 draws to a close, the cannabis industry continues to evolve, bringing new opportunities for professionals eager to make their mark.

December is still a busy month for hiring, with businesses preparing to hit the ground running in the new year.

In our December 2024 roundup, we’ve captured openings across the cannabis sector, from cultivation and retail to marketing and compliance. Whether you’re looking to advance your career or take on a new challenge, these opportunities could be your next step.

Let’s dive into the latest job postings in Canada’s cannabis industry!

Cannabis Producers/Brands

British Columbia

Pistol and Paris is looking for an Experienced Grower to join their team in Agassiz.

Leaf Infusions is hiring a Production Supervisor in New Westminster.

Dycar Pharmaceuticals is hiring a Cannabis Trimmer in Cranbrook.

Pure Sunfarms in Delta is hiring an Apprentice Grower.

Alberta

Weed Me is looking for a Key Account Manager in Edmonton.

Eighth House Growers is hiring a Quality Assurance Coordinator in Calgary.

Seeker Cannabis in Alberta is hiring a Sales Representative for Western Canada.

Saskatchewan

DECIBEL Cannabis Company is hiring a Plant Care Labourer in Battleford.

Bold Growth Inc. is hiring a Tissue Culture Specialist in Saskatoon.

Mother Labs is looking for a Media Prep Technician – Level 1 in Saskatoon.

Blue Sky Hemp Ventures is looking for an Extraction Operator in Saskatoon.

Manitoba

Tilray is looking for an Assistant Brand Manager in Winnipeg.

Nuances MJ Inc. is seeking a Sales Representative to visit retailers across Manitoba.

Great North Distributors in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is looking to hire a Cannabis Sales Representative for Manitoba.

Ontario

Blizza Brands in London is hiring a Cannabis Post Harvest Lead.

WILL Cannabis in Brampton is looking for a Cultivation Technician.

Thunder Spirit Ventures, a cannabis producer in Fenwick, is hiring a Post-Harvest Processing Manager.

Mera Cannabis is hiring a Production Supervisor and an Extraction Technician in St. Thomas,

Quebec.

Culture Kizos, located in Trois-Rivières, is looking to hire a Bilingual Office Admin / Bilingue Administrateur d’Office.

Cielo Verde Québec est à la recherche d’un Technicien(ne) en Culture à Lachute.

ROSE LIFESCIENCE is hiring a Processing and Packaging Technician in Huntingdon.

New Brunswick

Sana’a in Miramichi is hiring a Post Harvest Technician.

Purplefarm Genetics Inc. is looking for a Cultivation Technician, an HVAC Technician, and a Packaging Compliance Specialist in Fredericton, along with several other roles.

Nova Scotia

TEC Cannabis Services is hiring a Cannabis Trimmer and Packager in Liverpool.

Tilray Brands is looking for a Medical Outreach Associate in Nova Scotia.

PEI

Canada’s Island Garden, based in Charlottetown, has an opening for a full-time Brand Coordinator to assist with the organization’s suite of brands, an Industrial Electrician, a Tissue Culture Technician, and several other positions.

Auxly Cannabis is looking for a Warehouse Associate in Charlottetown.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Mernova Medicinal Inc. is seeking a Territory Sales Representative in St. John’s.

Cannabis Retail

The Herbary in Whitehorse, Yukon, is hiring an Assistant Store Manager.
UEM Cannabis, located in Langley, BC, is looking to hire a Store Manager.
BC Cannabis Stores is hiring a Cannabis Product Consultant in Langley Willowbrook, and an Operations Supervisor in Richmond, along with several other positions.
Cannabis Way is hiring a Retail Sales Associate and Retail Sales Supervisor in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
Value Buds is looking for a Store Supervisor in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
Grass Bar Cannabis in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, is hiring a Budtender.
The Joint Cannabis is looking for a full-time Team Lead in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as well as several other positions.
JTS Buds is looking for a Cannabis Specialist in Callander, Ontario.
The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) is hiring for a handful of positions.
Cannabis Jacks is hiring a Cannabis Specialist in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
The SQDC is hiring for multiple positions across the province of Quebec.
Cannabis NB is hiring a Store Manager in Campbellton, New Brunswick and many other positions across the province.
Atlantic Cannabis in Bay Roberts, NL, is hiring a Store Manager, along with several other positions.
The Circle K in Paradise, NL, is hiring a Part-Time Budtender.
A Value Buds is hiring a Keyholder in Summerside, PEI.

Other

Apollo Applied Research is looking for a Veteran Care Coordinator-Cannabis Clinic Administrator in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia.

Week in Weed – November 30, 2024

Written by Staff on November 30, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This past week at StratCann, we reported on newly tabled documents showing a plan for more than $20 million in cuts to Health Canada’s cannabis program over the next three years, and we looked at some comments between Trudeau and Poilievre in QP that referenced cannabis legalization.

We also heard from the Canadian Cannabis Council and Global Affairs Canada on their questions about Israel’s Canadian cannabis report. At the same time, Israel’s Ministry of Health said the proposed tariffs on Canadian cannabis will harm patients and benefit the illicit market.

Health Canada granted a cannabis testing licence to Brock University, the Australian Senate rejected a cannabis legalization bill at second reading, and we looked at several new THC-infused oral pouches from Canadian cannabis producers.

In financial news, CanadaBis Capital and The Good Shroom shared their year-end reports, while MTL Cannabis shared its Q2 2024 report and Cannara Biotech shared its Q4 2024. Entourage Health released its Q3 2024 and Ayurcann released its Q1 2025.

Tokyo Smoke has emerged from creditor protection with around 57 “go-forward” store locations.

In law enforcement news, Halifax RCMP executed two search warrants at an illegal cannabis storefront, Surrey RCMP dismantled a large illicit cannabis distribution group, seizing 700 pounds of illicit cannabis, guns, and psilocybin, and Renfrew OPP are looking for three suspects in a cannabis store robbery.

A Canadian man is said to be imprisoned in Dubai over CBD oil, and the CBSA continues to seize cannabis making its way to foreign shores.

In other cannabis news

Health Canada’s Cannabis Tracking and Licensing System (CTLS) User Guide is now available online.

Markham, Ontario’s 1CM have been issued their Cannabis Distributor Licence from the Manitoba cannabis regulator the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA). They join Open Fields Distribution, Maqabim Distributors Inc., Lineage Distribution, and 100 LBS in offering distribution services to the Manitoba cannabis retail market on behalf of MBLL.

The owner of a liquor store and cannabis store in Innisfail, Alberta is looking to sell. The owner operates the liquor store and receives rental income from the cannabis store, Revive Cannabis.

Simply Solventless Concentrates Ltd. announced the appointment of Tairance Rutter from ANC to Vice President, Marketing & Product Development with SSC. SSC also provided Q4 2024 guidance, including record projected gross revenue, adjusted EBITDA and normalized net income, and the graduation from TSXV Tier 2 to TSXV Tier 1 status. The company also issued a correction of this press release.

A recent survey conducted by CAA South Central Ontario found that 19% of Ontario drivers admit to consuming cannabis and driving a vehicle, a 5% increase from last year.

Jesse Lavoie from Toba Grown posted an update on Instagram about the Manitoba government’s efforts to finally allow people to grow cannabis at home. Lavoie says there should be more info from the government in the coming weeks, and expects seeds to be available for purchase legally as early as next February.

Truro Police Service patrol officers in Nova Scotia conducted a traffic stop on Robie St. that resulted in a 32-year-old New Brunswick male being arrested for possession of cannabis for the purpose of distribution. A large amount of cannabis and a large sum of cash were seized in this investigation.

A Moncton business owner was fined $20,000 after admitting his business continued to illegally sell cannabis products even after being warned repeatedly not to by the province.

Police in London, Ontario, are investigating an early morning shooting that damaged an unlicensed, “sovereign” Indigenous Dundas Street cannabis shop but saw no one injured.

Police seized $16,000 in cash, illegal drugs, and 265 cannabis plants following a search of two Calgary residences.

Police charged a 17-year-old Lloydminster, Alberta youth after investigations into a break-and-enter at a south side cannabis store where about $15,000 worth of items was stolen. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at a home and took a male youth into custody, as well as recovering items taken during the break-and-enter.

The BC Craft Farmers Co-Op (BCCFC) wants the federal government to reconsider its new GST policy that does not include cannabis among the list of exempt items.

Canopy Growth Corporation has named Luc Mongeau as the next CEO of Canopy Growth, effective January 6, 2025. Mongeau was previously CEO of ESolutions Furniture and President of Weston Foods.

Cannabis represents about 2.8% of total farm cash receipts so far in 2024.

A new research paper looks at Canadian cannabis researchers’ perspectives on the conduct and sponsorship of scientific research by the for-profit cannabis Industry, underscoring the issue of industry-academic relationships as a structural problem.

The monitor for Delta 9’s CCAA process has shared an Application for a Restricted Court Access Order and an Application for a Creditor’s Meeting, as well as the Fifth Report of the Monitor and the Third Affidavit of Mark Townsend.

International cannabis news

A series of cannabis recalls in short succession in Maine has industry members questioning the effectiveness of the state’s cannabis testing protocols, saying the standards for yeast and mould are simultaneously too tight and too broad.

The US Farm Bill 2025, which has previously come under intense scrutiny from the country’s hemp industry, has been released by the Senate Agriculture Committee. The updated draft now redefines hemp to include “total THC” levels, incorporating all variants like delta-8, delta-10, delta-9 and THCA, and keeping to a 0.3% limit.

Denmark’s six-year medical cannabis pilot scheme could soon be expanded into a fully legalized market following a recent surprise announcement from the government, reports Business of Cannabis.

And finally, Australia’s ‘booming’ medicinal cannabis trade is on track this year to quadruple 2022 sales, reports The Guardian.

Cannabis vapes coming to SQDC by fall 2025

Written by David Brown on November 29, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Quebec.

The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) is adding vaping products to its product offering, but consumers will have to wait a year or so to buy them.

In an information note to all suppliers posted on November 28, the provincial cannabis wholesaler and retailer says it has decided to finally allow the sale of vape products in order to provide a lower-risk alternative to Québec customers compared to unregulated vape products that are easily purchased across the country.

The SQDC company will hold an online meeting on December 10 to explain to suppliers its requirements for batteries and cartridges. To ensure products comply with regulations and that the new process goes smoothly, the SQDC says it is giving itself approximately one year before beginning to sell these products.

“In a year or so, Québec consumers will have access to quality regulated products, will know exactly what they are inhaling, and will be guided by knowledgeable trained advisors,” reads the bulletin, in part [translated].

The new category will be introduced gradually, with an initial rollout of around 20 products. The SDQC has confirmed with StratCann that all provincial rules for cannabis products will apply to cannabis vapes, including Quebec’s 30% THC limit. In addition, no additional flavours can be added to these products except for cannabis-derived terpenes that are already in the product.

The SQDC will hold two separate product calls, one for batteries and the other for cannabis vape cartridges. The first online meeting on December 10, 2024, will also be the opening date of the battery product call, with an end date of January 31, 2025.

The SQDC will then open up a product call for cannabis vape carts on March 31, 2025, which will end on April 25, 2025.

The planned start of sales will be fall 2025.

A Media Relations Team representative with SQDC told StratCann via email: “We took this decision in response to the rising popularity of this method of use (vaping) and the risks associated with vaping products from the illegal market. These products frequently contain banned chemical substances, THC levels that exceed Quebec standards, appealing flavors and aromas, especially for young people, and make inaccurate claims. ”

Despite a provincial ban, a quarter of cannabis-using Quebecers report using cannabis vapes, according to a survey from the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) in early 2024. Twenty-five percent of Quebecers who reported consuming cannabis in the past year said they have vaped it.

Quebec banned cannabis vape pens in 2019. Since there is no legal source for cannabis vapes in Quebec, residents told ISQ that they sourced their vapes from family and friends, from legal sources in other provinces, from illicit suppliers, and/or online. Newfoundland and Labrador had also previously banned the sale of cannabis vapes but began allowing them in 2022. Prince Edward Island has also banned cannabis vapes. The provincial online cannabis store did recently list a few cannabis vapes but they are now listed as out of stock.

The survey results come from the 2023 Quebec Cannabis Survey (EQC), collected between February and July 2023 from 13,209 people. The first results from the survey were released in October 2023.

Most Quebecers who consume cannabis do so by smoking it (81%), while 31% reported using edibles and 23% consuming oral cannabis drops such as cannabis oils. These oils have the same active ingredient as in cannabis edibles.

About three-quarters (71%) of Quebecers over the age of 15 who consumed cannabis in the last year reported getting at least some of their cannabis from legal stores in Quebec (SQDC).

Note: This article has been edited to include additional information from SQDC.

A conversation with Suzanne Bergeron, President and CEO, SQDC

October 15, 2024

A tale of two markets: The future of retail cannabis in Ontario and Quebec

August 27, 2024

Quebecers still vaping cannabis, despite provincial ban

April 11, 2024

More than $20 million in cuts to Health Canada’s cannabis program over next three years

Written by David Brown on November 28, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government.

Health Canada’s cannabis program will see about $20.5 million in cuts over the next three years as part of the federal government’s goal of finding some $15.8 billion in savings over five years under its ongoing “Refocusing Government Spending” initiative, reports the Hill Times.

The cuts to Health Canada’s cannabis program constitute the largest made in order to reach the budgetary goal. Health Canada’s pharmaceutical drugs programs and management and oversight services will also see millions in reduced spending.

The document shared in the House of Commons shows Health Canada’s refocussing government spending reductions for its cannabis program by $4.7 million in 2024-2025, $7.5 million in 2025-2026 and $8.3 million 2026-2027 and ongoing.

In Budget 2023, the federal government announced the “Refocusing Government Spending to Deliver for Canadians” measure with a goal of reducing the pace and scale of growth in government spending back to a pre-pandemic path.

The Hill Times’ reporting comes from recently tabled House of Commons documents showing cuts to federal programs from affordable housing to vaccines, the Department of National Defence, and more. The tabled documents are in response to a question from Peter Julian, the NDP MP for New Westminster—Burnaby, BC.

The cuts were first announced as part of Budget 2023, which announced a goal of refocusing $14.1 billion over five years from different government organizations and $1.3 billion over five years from enterprise crown corporations.

The 2023 Fall Economic Statement announced that the government will extend and expand its efforts to refocus government spending in the amount of $345.6 million in 2025-26 and $691 million ongoing.

The Public Safety Portfolio is contributing a total of $141.1 million to refocusing government spending through the 2024-25 Main Estimates. Ongoing savings total $247.3M for the portfolio.

In response to a request by the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer issued a report that provides an overview of the $500 million in announced reductions in spending on consulting, professional services, and travel for 2023-24 proposed in Budget 2023.

The report identified $179,000 in savings from Health Canada’s cannabis file, which it said would have no impact on service levels.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada has expressed concern at the scope of the cuts, which it says will open the door “for departments to slash permanent employees through Workforce Adjustment.”

In Health Canada’s 2023–24 Departmental Plan, a decrease in planned human resources (full-time equivalents) and a decrease in planned spending in 2025-26 are in part from the expiry of budgetary authorities for the renewal of the federal framework for the legalization and regulation of cannabis in Canada.

The full tabled report is available here.

138 cannabis samples tested by Health Canada in 2020, but no labs inspected

March 17, 2021

$600,000 in grants to help develop minor cannabinoids in Canada’s hemp crops

August 15, 2024

$11 billion in cannabis sales has created 151,000 new jobs and added $43.5 billion to Canada’s GDP

February 1, 2022

Canadian cannabis companies bringing THC-infused sublingual pouches to market

Written by Staff on November 27, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Producers.

Two Canadian cannabis companies have recently launched the first THC-infused oral pouches, Sensi Brands’ Chillows by Potluck and the Good Shroom Co’s DYP’s.

Both brands’ products are marketed as pouches to be placed in the lip or gum, similar to caffeine and nicotine-infused pouches like Zyn and Zonnic, which have exploded in popularity in 2024.

The Good Shroom’s DYP’s were first announced on October 22, 2024, quickly followed by Sensi Brand’s Chillows on November 25. Both come with ten 10mg THC pouches per container. The Chillows are advertised as having a rapid onset, delivering THC effects within 10 to 15 minutes, and come in four flavours, while the DYP’s come in two flavours.

The DYP products reached shelves in Alberta in early November with plans to launch in Ontario in 2025, while the Chillows are expected to be available in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta retailers starting the week of December 9, and additional provinces in 2025.

“We are thrilled to bring DYP’s to market in Alberta,” said Eric Ronsse, CEO of The Good Shroom Co Inc. in a press release in October. “This product launch represents an important milestone for our company and for the Canadian cannabis market. DYP’s offer consumers a convenient, affordable, and familiar way to consume THC, and we believe the strong feedback from our sales team demonstrates the potential of this new category.”

Sensi Brands CEO Tony Giorgi says the process of developing the product from concept to retail shelves was around two years, with the company taking care to ensure they could control every aspect of development and distribution.

“Innovating and delivering a breakthrough product that redefines how cannabis is consumed was a challenging and extremely rewarding journey that we started over 2 years ago,” said Giorgi.

“The creation of “Chillows by Potluck” required the development of a new domestic supply chain and build-out of our internal manufacturing capability. Sensi Brands proudly manufactures all products internally, providing Sensi with first mover advantage, full control over production IP and quality and the ability to rapidly scale to meet consumer demand,” he added. “We believe our customers appreciate the quality of our locally sourced and manufactured products compared to container sourced.”

Sensi Brands carries an array of products under its Potluck brand, as well as Station House (which is also the third cannabis farmgate store in Ontario), Sensimilia, and Good Greens Medical.

The Good Shroom has launched unique products like its THC-infused ramen noodles and infused crunchy peanuts, as well as edibles, pre-rolls, and capsules.

Editor’s note: Another company, Six One Charlie, also has a similar product available on the medical cannabis platform Mendo Cannabis (h/t to Doug from Winnipeg for the heads up).

Stigma Grow recently launched their own THC pouches as well under the Dab Bods brand.

BC cannabis company is bringing infused poutine to the Quebec market

February 28, 2024

Low-THC products can make brands stand out to niche demand, producers say

March 14, 2024

A better way of measuring THC in cannabis

May 28, 2024

Canadian Cannabis Council, Global Affairs Canada question Israel’s Canadian cannabis report

Written by David Brown on November 26, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International, Other, Producers.

The Canadian Cannabis Council (C3) says it continues to be surprised by the allegations of “product dumping” of cannabis from Canada by the Israeli government.

Specifically, C3’s president Paul McCarthy says he still has questions about how investigators for the Israeli government determined the price of Canadian cannabis. Those prices, based on wholesale cannabis prices in Canada, informed the determination that these products were being “Dumped” in the Israeli market at allegedly above market rate.

In a recent report, Israel’s Ministry of Economy proposed levies of up to 175% on Canadian cannabis products being sold in the country’s medical cannabis program.

The tax rates are based on the Israeli government’s investigations into cannabis pricing in the Canadian market, as well as different Canadian cannabis companies’ cooperation with the Israeli government investigation process.

The investigation, which was first announced this past January, was around allegations of “product dumping” of Canadian cannabis into the Israeli market. In July, the government agency released its preliminary report on the topic. The newest report was released in November. A final ruling on the proposed levies is still pending.

The Canadian Cannabis Council questions the methodology of this analysis. In their submission to the Israeli government, the organization stated:

“Our members do not export final consumer-ready packaged goods to Israel, but instead export bulk raw material cannabis flower. It is only once that raw material flower has arrived in Israel that local manufacturers process and package the flower for sale to pharmacies in accordance with the Israel Medical Cannabis Authority’s rules and regulations.”

McCarthy says these questions remain unanswered.

“No one can ascertain how any of the decisions were made,” he told StratCann via email. “This includes individual companies who provided much of the information used for these determinations.

“One major question is whether the analysis was able to maintain a proper ‘apples to apples’ comparison throughout. It is quite possible that retail price, wholesale price, and/or the application of excise tax and HST, or not, have been used in an inconsistent manner throughout the analysis. Should this prove to be the case, it would mean that calculations are wildly off base.”

According to C3’s submission to the Israeli government, based on data from the Canadian Cannabis Exchange (CCS), the average price in 2023 of cannabis flowers sold in bulk in Canada is only CAD$0.96 a gram.

In the most recent report, Israel’s Ministry of Economy responds to C3’s “apples to apples” argument, saying that this per gram rate is based on “low quality” products that are not comparable to the quality or type of cannabis sold into the Israeli market, stating that “the method of wholesale packaging is not a parameter for comparing the quality of the exported products.”

Although a release date for the Israeli government’s final determination is unknown, McCarthy says his understanding is that the final ruling on the matter could come at any time in the next few months. It’s also possible that even if the final report is approved, the country’s Ministry of Finance could choose not to enforce it.

McCarthy also says C3 will support any efforts made by the Canadian government to address what he says is a “clearly a broken process.”

“I know that officials are currently investigating the situation to determine the best path forward.”

One possibility, he says, is a WTO challenge, although he doesn’t see this as a timely remedy.

“Some have wondered whether a WTO challenge would be a potential path,” continues McCarthy. “C3 would certainly support any efforts pursued by the government of Canada, but it’s important to note that a WTO challenge would likely take years to be concluded and wouldn’t undo the harm caused by this today. While this may be an important step to set the record right and to guide future actions, we’d like to concentrate on what we can do right now to rectify this egregious determination.”

Israel’s preliminary report also says that the commission will submit a report on its findings to the World Trade Organization.

The floating price, or tariff, exists, explains a notice by the commissioner (Translated), “when the foreign producer exports the goods at prices lower than their production costs or their price in the country of origin. Such imports are defined by the World Trade Organization as ‘unfair trade’. According to the WTO’s Export Convention, the country may protect its domestic market in such cases by imposing an export levy, which compares the import price to the price that reflects fair competition.”

The World Trade Organization defines such imports as “unfair trade.” According to the WTO’s Export Convention, a country may protect its domestic market in such cases by imposing an export levy, which compares the import price to the price that reflects fair competition.

Jean-Pierre J. Godbout, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, tells StratCann that the agency is reviewing the proposal to see if it is in compliance with WTO rules.

“Canada is disappointed with Israel’s Commissioner of Trade Levies’ conclusion that imports of medical cannabis from Canada were dumped into Israel and caused material injury to the Israeli domestic industry. We are reviewing the Commissioner’s decision to assess its compliance with applicable WTO rules and have significant concerns with the Commissioner’s methodological choices and interpretations of the facts in the case. We will continue to closely monitor the development of this case, including the Advisory Committee review and Ministerial approval processes, and intervene alongside the implicated Canadian industry.”

The head of the economy, regulation and innovation at Israel’s Ministry of Health also has concerns about the proposal, saying it will harm Israel’s cannabis industry, questioning the report’s methodology and saying the Ministry of Health will not support the proposal.

Israel: Report now proposes up to 175% tax on Canadian cannabis imports

November 12, 2024

Israel’s Ministry of Health says tariffs on Canadian cannabis will harm patients, benefit illicit market

November 25, 2024

Israel opens “anti-dumping” investigation into cannabis imports from Canada

January 26, 2024

Health Canada grants cannabis testing licence to Brock University

Written by David Brown on November 25, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Ontario, Research.

Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, has received an analytical testing license from Health Canada.

The license will allow researchers at Brock to analyze cannabis samples‘ chemical and biological components for effectiveness and safety.

Testing will take place using equipment within the Brock-Niagara Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI).

“The cannabis analysis license truly opens the doors for the types of support that the VPMI can provide for the industry across the Niagara region, Ontario, and Canada,” says VPMI Scientific Director and Associate Professor of Chemistry Paul Zelisko.

“The licence will also permit the VPMI to support stakeholders in typing cannabis strains for more targeted and personalized applications and to help those within the industry to find value added compounds in waste materials to promote a more circular economy,” he adds.

These waste materials can include cannabis leaves, stems, and roots. Zelisko says.

“Discovering valuable compounds in this waste material can help a company mitigate costly disposal fees and/or develop new revenue streams,” he says.

The testing will also help companies look into the addition of particular flavours and scents to their cannabis edible, beverage, and vaping products to ensure products remain within Health Canada’s allowable THC limits.

Brock’s Acting Vice-President of Research, Michelle McGinn, says the new license is “a milestone” for the University and the Niagara region.

“It opens a new frontier for cannabis research that has immense implications for public health and economic growth,” says McGinn. “Consistent with VPMI’s mission, we are applying our specialized knowledge and state-of-the-art equipment to solve real-world challenges and thereby demonstrating how science and business flourish together.”

Health Canada has also renewed a research-related cannabis license granted to Brock University in 2019, one of the country’s first universities to receive a cannabis-related research and development license.

That license allowed Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) researchers and local industry partners to identify plant virus infections in cannabis and to develop cannabis-infused drink technology.

An analytical testing licence from Health Canada allows for activities such as testing for chemical contaminants, microbial contaminants, cannabinoid content, dissolution or disintegration, sterility, stability testing, and/or pesticides.

Health Canada currently lists 136 laboratories as being authorized to conduct analytics testing under the federal Cannabis Act. Brock’s new licence was issued on October 24, 2024.

Week in Weed – November 23, 2024

Written by Staff on November 23, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This past week at StratCann, we noted that the Canada Revenue Agency has written off nearly $5 million worth of excise tax on cannabis as uncollectible as of September 21, 2024, while a chain of cannabis stores in Ontario received a $100,000 fine for “data deals”.

We also looked at how the cannabis industry is taking steps to manage the Canada Post strike and new proposed legislation in Ontario that would impose new penalties for advertising and promoting illegal cannabis. From the debate of that legislation, we also learned that the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation is seeking negotiations with Ontario on retail cannabis.

Monthly retail cannabis sales in Canada continue to hold under the $500 million mark, and the AGLC in Alberta released their 2023-2024 annual report, including $673.5 million in cannabis sales.

Cannabis NB has again launched its Good To Know cannabis awareness campaign.

In finance news, The Hash Co completed an asset transfer and name change, and Simply Solventless released their Q3 2024 report, as did Decibel Cannabis and Herbal Dispatch.

Meanwhile, Quebec cannabis business QcGoldtech, connected to former Montreal police chief Yvan Delorme, owes more than half a million dollars in unpaid taxes, and Noya Holdings is seeking approval of a $3.8 million stalking horse deal and an extension of stay of proceedings.

In law enforcement news, police in Kingston, Ontario, raided an unlicensed cannabis store for the second time in a week, while the OPP shut down an illegal pot shop in Leamington.

Two Chinese nationals in the UK were jailed for importing cannabis from Canada in a “significant criminal enterprise”.

Police in Quebec seized hash, cannabis, kief and equipment; police in Calgary needed help identifying a suspect related to cannabis store robberies in Edmonton and Calgary; and the BC government is seeking forfeiture proceedings for six properties they say are connected to illicit cannabis sales.

In other cannabis news

The Gaspésie-Magdalen Islands video journal spoke with Stéphane Daigle, president of Cultures Seaweed in Carleton-sur-Mer in the Gaspésie region of Quebec, north of New Brunswick. The interview is available here.

One of the cannabis retail applicants in Surrey, BC, for the Cloverdale location, 137 Brands, was replaced with “UEM Cannabis” with a proposed location of #100 5828 176 Street.

InfoTel ran a story on the Cannabis Cottages, the outdoor cannabis consumption space in Penticton, BC.

Québec’s updated Economic and Financial Situation for Fall 2024 includes a projection of $379 million in revenue from the SQDC for 2024-2027.

High Tide Inc. announced that its new Canna Cabana location in Hamilton, Ontario, would open this past week. This opening will mark High Tide’s 187th Canna Cabana branded retail cannabis location in Canada, the 73rd in the province of Ontario, and the third in the city of Hamilton.

Tilray announced the launch of its 2024 Holiday Cannabis Gift Guide.

Pure Sunfarms Corp. launched its Super Toast All-In-One Vape.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. announced several new products from its Greybeard, San Rafael ’71, and Tasty’s brands.

Canopy Growth Corporation announced an exclusive licensing agreement for the launch of infused pre-rolls from the California brand Claybourne in the Canadian market. According to Canopy’s data, the pre-roll joint market in Canada has grown 94% since 2022, with infused pre-rolls now totalling 9.6% of the total recreational market.

The Kahnawake Cannabis Control Board (KCCB) set a loose timeline for retail sales of cannabis to begin in the community while it says it’s planning to issue dispensary licences by the end of the year, according to the KCCB’s interim operations manager.

Four sources in Kanesatake (Quebec) say they heard shots fired outside the Sweet Grass Lodge around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday. Sûreté du Québec and the business owner deny there were any shots fired. Store owner Normand Théoret is one of 17 people on trial for his alleged role in an illegal dumping scheme that contaminated entire sections of the Mohawk territory.

The immediate area has seen an influx of unlicensed cannabis stores over the years, with one local cannabis store owner telling StratCann recently that they were frustrated with outsiders coming to their community to party at some new cannabis stores, two of which were constructed on the allegedly illegally dumped waste brought into the community from off-reserve.

An Ontario court has issued a two-year probation order against the landlords of an Aurora industrial property, which housed an illegal cannabis facility for more than two years.

After losing the recent provincial election, New Brunswick’s Conservative Party has named its shadow cabinet, including Kathy Bockus as shadow minister for economic development and small business, NB Liquor and Cannabis, and the Regional Development Corporation. The Croix MLA helped cut the ribbon at the opening of a cannabis farmgate store in the province in 2023.

A new research article looks at cannabis consumption among adults aged 55–65 in Canada from 2018–2021. Cannabis use among this group increased in the first year following legalization and has remained stable since then.

Young adults at risk of psychosis show reduced brain connectivity, a deficit that cannabis use appears to worsen, a new study from McGill University has found. The breakthrough paves the way for psychosis treatments targeting symptoms that current medications miss.

A former cannabis cultivator from Richmond is alleging a BC investment firm founded by his uncle was a “sham” to serve as a “conduit for undisclosed payments” for chosen shareholders — some of whom are implicated in an alleged US$1-billion stock fraud scheme.

In Espanola, Ontario, 12 kilograms of dried cannabis, 140 packages of cannabis gummies, and 50 vape pens were seized in a traffic stop, along with 10 grams of suspected cocaine.

A Moncton judge issued an arrest warrant on Thursday when a man charged with illegally possessing cannabis to distribute didn’t show up in court.

International cannabis news

This month, the US FDA surprised many by authorizing a clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of using cannabis to treat military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, reported the New York Times.

The Australian Parliament will vote on the Greens’ bill to legalize cannabis on November 27 this year, says Senator David Shoebridge, the sponsor of the bill, more than a year after it was first tabled. It’s not expected to pass.

Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) has published the medical cannabis import figures for Q3, showing that the country’s medical cannabis market is still growing rapidly, reports Business of Cannabis.

US Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow’s proposed 2024 farm bill would tighten restrictions on intoxicating hemp products without completely prohibiting THC, reports Politico.

Politico’s Natalie Fertig also reports that some in the US cannabis industry are excited by the possibility of Matt Gaetz becoming the US attorney general, who they say is well-informed on and friendly to the cannabis file. The article includes comments from Boris Jordan, CEO of Curaleaf, former GOP Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, and David Culver of the US Cannabis Council.

But that was short-lived after Gaetz withdrew from the contest. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is the new pick. She has a track record of not looking favourably upon cannabis legalization efforts or use.

Only one organization supporting cannabis rescheduling in the US will have full standing for the highly anticipated December 2 hearing: the American National Cannabis Industry Association, reports MJBizDaily. Every party that applied to argue against moving cannabis to Schedule 3 has full standing to participate in an upcoming landmark hearing, though.

Finally, Village Farms International, Inc. (the parent company of Pure Sunfarms) and Hemp for Victory announced that they have filed a joint motion which seeks the immediate disqualification and removal of the US Drug Enforcement Administration from defending the Proposed Role to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act. The parties also moved to replace the DEA with the US Department of Justice.

Monthly retail cannabis sales in Canada continue to hold under the $500 million mark

Written by David Brown on November 22, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Retail.

Retail cannabis sales in Canada continue to hold relatively steady year-over-year, with the summer peak in sales in August reaching $476 million, up slightly from $469 million in August 2023.

Cannabis sales had seen significant year-over-year growth in the first four years of legalization, along with the number of new retail outlets appearing across the country. In the last two years, though, the increase in sales began to slow down, coinciding with a slowdown in new retail stores, likely representing market saturation.

Statistics Canada reported in April 2024 that about 71% of cannabis consumers in the previous year had bought cannabis exclusively from legal sources, such as the more than 3,000 legal cannabis stores in Canada. It’s important to note that Statistics Canada’s monthly cannabis sales figures are at times adjusted as the quality of collected data improves.

The figures below show both seasonally adjusted sales figures as well as unadjusted.

Atikameksheng Anishnawbek seeks negotiations with Ontario on retail cannabis

Written by David Brown on November 20, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Ontario, Retail.

The Ontario NDP’s Opposition Spokesperson on Health is asking the provincial government to respond to a First Nations government request to enter into negotiations with the provincial government regarding the operation of a retail cannabis store.

The comments came during the debate of Bill 223, the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act, 2024, which includes a potential ban on the advertisement and promotion of cannabis that is sold unlawfully. France Gélinas, the NDP MPP for the riding of Nickel Belt, read the letter from the government of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, formerly known as the Whitefish Lake First Nation, an Ojibway First Nation in northern Ontario. Gélinas is also the Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Policy and a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

The MPP says Atikameksheng Anishnawbek is waiting on a response to a letter signed by the chief and sent to Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General. The MPP’s comments also state that she suspects that the proposed legislation that amends the provincial Cannabis Control Act to ban the advertisement and promotion of cannabis that is sold unlawfully is intended to target First Nations.

“When a First Nation takes the time—and this is signed by the chief, and copied to me and to everybody else—please make sure that you treat them with respect and that you answer their letter, so that they can be partners with the provincial government and not have the Cannabis Control Act and schedule 1 go after First Nations communities.”

However, Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey responded to Gélinas’ comments, assuring her that the section of the bill that references the advertising and promotion of illicit cannabis is not intended to target First Nations.

“We are providing another tool for police to go after those who are online, marketing and advertising illegal cannabis,” said Downy, directing his comments to the Speaker of the House.

“I did listen to my colleague from Nickel Belt and concerns around First Nations. This is not a tool focused on First Nations. This is a tool focused on the bad actors in the online space, because it is a little bit of Whac-A-Mole, where they sometimes put up a site and then switch over to another site, and the public is not protected in that unregulated market. So this is a tool for the police to go after them with provincial measures, in addition to the existing tools that are there federally, the Criminal Code and otherwise. We want to go after the advertising and promotion of the sale of illegal cannabis as part of our plan to go after the black market, protecting our communities and looking after our children.

“I don’t think anybody thinks that we should be ignoring the illegal cannabis market and the bad actors behind it, and I would look forward to my colleagues across the way supporting us on this piece and others.”

The comments were made during the second reading debate of Bill 223 on November 19. The letter from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, as shared by MPP Gélinas, reads:

“Please accept this letter as our formal request to enter into negotiations regarding the operation of a retail cannabis store in Atikameksheng Anishnawbek.

“As a First Nation, it is important to us that we regulate and control businesses that operate on Atikameksheng lands. To that end, we would always reserve the right to control and administratively run those businesses to protect the interests of members of our community.

“It is necessary to point out that we reserve the right to license, as a governing body, those who wish to conduct all businesses, including distribution of cannabis.

“As such, formal approval from the provincial government is not a requirement for us to proceed with this process. Having said that, it is in everyone’s interest that we strive to harmonize rules and regulations between Atikameksheng, its citizens, and the policies and procedures set out by the provincial government.

“It would only be in matters where our interests may diverge that Atikameksheng would seek an independent path. At this stage, we do not foresee such a divergence.

“It is important for us to move forward expeditiously as we wish to ensure that the sale and distribution of cannabis within Atikameksheng lands is properly regulated so as to prevent third-party black market enterprises from establishment (sic) in our community.

“As we move forward, we are open to discussions with you to harmonize our processes and policies with those of the provincial government.

“We welcome your suggestions as to how we might best achieve the intended harmonization.”

The Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Cannabis Vending Bylaw 2018 banned the sale of cannabis in the community. In 2023, the community voted in favour of its proposed 2023 Cannabis Control Law. The law authorized and directed the Gimaa (Chief) & Council of the First Nation to make any changes as necessary to the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Cannabis Control Law.

In 2021, members of the Anishinabek Police Service carried out a raid on an unauthorized cannabis store, with two charged with possession for the purposes of distributing and selling cannabis and the store’s cannabis seized by police. According to a media report, the store quickly reopened.

Representatives from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek were not immediately available for comment.

The 2023-2024 Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Annual Report refers to the completion and implementation of the community’s Cannabis Control Commission.

Featured image via atikamekshenganishnawbek.ca

BC court rejects retailers’ lawsuit calling for enforcement against cannabis stores on First Nations land

September 19, 2023

First Nations cannabis retailer says her community flooded with outsiders taking advantage of lax enforcement

January 25, 2022

First Nations make tough choices in cannabis market

November 16, 2020

CRA has written off nearly $5 million in cannabis excise tax

Written by David Brown on November 20, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government.

The Canada Revenue Agency has written off nearly $5 million worth of excise tax on cannabis as uncollectible, as of September 21, 2024.

According to newly tabled documents in the House of Commons, a total of $4,718,514 has been written off as uncollectible. The tabled documents are in response to a question from Tako Van Popta, Conservative MP for Langley-Aldergrove, BC.

All of the companies with excise tax written off as uncollectible by the CRA are located in Ontario.

The tabled document lists 12 such companies. Eleven of these show a balance of debt that remains after compromise settlement pursuant to an applicable authority. One of the listed companies shows a debtor in an undischarged bankrupt corporation, with the trustee confirming in writing that he does not foresee any further payments.

Uncollected excise tax

The largest amount for a single company’s uncollected excise tax debt is $1,922,621 from April 2024, while the smallest is $136,095 from September 2024. Of the 11 companies listed, seven show a debt incurred in 2024, three from 2023, and one from 2022. All were located in Ontario.

Mr. Van Popta’s question, in full, asked:

“With regard to entities that owe tax to the CRA for unpaid excise tax on cannabis:

how many have filed for creditor protection or bankruptcy, broken down by year since the legalization of cannabis;
how much excise tax has been written off, in total, and broken down by the province or territory of the entity owing tax; and
for each entity which owed unpaid excise tax on cannabis and had their amount owing written off by the CRA, what are the details, including the (i) name of the entity, (ii) location, (iii) amount written off, (iv) date of the write-off, (v) reason for the write-off?

Insolvency in the industry

According to Insolvency Insider, 47 cannabis-related businesses in Canada have filed for creditor protection (CCAA) since 2019. Another ten have filed for bankruptcy, 13 have filed for receivership, and 21 have filed for a Notice of Intention (NOI) to make a Proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, which allows financially troubled corporations the opportunity to restructure their affairs.

Not all of these businesses are operating in Canada. A few operated in the US but were listed as Canadian businesses, and a few are ancillary services for cannabis producers or retailers.

As of January 31, 2024, the federal government says it has collected $3.4 billion ($3,418,794,702) in federal cannabis excise, with nearly $2.7 billion going back to the provinces and territories ($2,659,784,658).

These amounts reflect the CRA’s administration of Cannabis Duty and Information Returns provided by the licensed cultivators, producers, and packagers of cannabis and/or cannabis products on behalf of the federal, provincial, and territorial governments.

Canada’s federal excise tax for dried cannabis flower is effectively $1 per gram, with 75% of this going back to the provinces, as well as an ad valorem rate of 2.5% of the dutiable amount for the cannabis product. (Other cannabis products are taxed at a flat rate of $0.0025/milligram of total THC).

CCAA filings for cannabis companies have shown significant amounts of unpaid cannabis taxes owed to the Canada Revenue Agency. One recent CCAA listing showed $345,622.38 owed to the CRA. In a recent creditor protection filing, another company showed nearly $5.4 million owed to the CRA for source deductions and excise tax.

Breakdown of taxes

Over $200 million owed in cannabis excise duty

February 8, 2024

How much does a legal weed grower in Canada actually get from that ounce you bought?

October 16, 2024

Streamlining excise stamps could go a long way to relieving regulatory burden, costs

October 10, 2024

Ontario introduces legislation that would impose new penalties for advertising and promoting illegal cannabis

Written by David Brown on November 18, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Retail.

The Ontario government has introduced legislation that they say, if passed, will help tackle illegal cannabis sales by prohibiting advertising and promoting the sale of illegal cannabis through the province’s cannabis legislation.

The possible changes are part of a larger package of changes as part of new legislation, the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act, which includes targeted measures to help support public safety near supervised consumption sites, crack down on auto theft and careless driving, enhance the tools police can use to manage sex offenders, tackle illegal cannabis sales, and support access to justice.

“Our government is keeping our communities safe and holding criminals accountable,” said Solicitor General Michael Kerzner. “Today, we’re proposing impactful changes to strengthen tools for police officers, improve access to justice and eliminate dangerous activity that puts hard-working people at risk. In Ontario, crime doesn’t pay.”

Targeting advertising with new legislation

The proposed change would amend the Cannabis Control Act, 2017 to add a new prohibition “respecting the advertisement or promotion of cannabis that is sold unlawfully, along with a related penalty if a person is convicted of contravening the prohibition.”

Current penalties for violating various aspects of Ontario’s Cannabis Control Act, 2017 can range from up to $100,000 for an individual and up to $250,000 for a corporation.

Many cannabis retailers in Ontario have expressed frustration at what they say is under-enforcement by police against unlicensed cannabis stores. This new legislation, if passed, could give bylaw officers more ability to penalize illicit operators without relying entirely on Toronto or Ontario police services.

StratCann reached out to representatives at the City of Toronto regarding a recent article about illicit stores in the province, and their response revealed a need for the province to review the Cannabis Control Act, which has not been updated since before legalization.

“In March 2024 Toronto City Council requested the Province of Ontario undertake a comprehensive review of the Cannabis Control Act, 2017, in consultation with municipalities, including roles and responsibilities, funding, and enforcement, and addressing unlicensed cannabis establishments,” said Shane Gerard, Senior Communications Coordinator. “The Cannabis Control Act, 2017 has not undergone a comprehensive review since it was introduced seven years ago.”

Charging property owners in contravention

He added that the province is responsible for licensing and regulating private cannabis retail stores through the AGCO, which enforces the regulations. Further, Gerard said that the city does, in fact, go after property owners.

“The city can, and does, file charges against property owners who are in contravention of the Cannabis Control Act. Individuals charged can face fines of up to $250,000 and face imprisonment of two years (minus one day).”

The city also pointed out that the current Cannabis Control Act provides limited authority to municipal by-law officers.

“These officers do not have arrest powers and are not permitted or trained to use force while carrying out enforcement activities. This makes the enforcement of unlicensed cannabis dispensaries challenging and presents health and safety risks to officers.”

Bill 223, Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act, 2024 was introduced and read for the first time on November 18, 2024.

Week in Weed – November 16, 2024

Written by Staff on November 16, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International, Other.

This week at StratCann, we covered the most recent report from Israel regarding allegations of “product dumping” from Canadian cannabis producers (more on this next week).

We also looked into the recent micro licence issued by the Kahnawà:ke Cannabis Control Board, the second cannabis production licence the KCCB has issued in coordination with Health Canada.

A clinical psychologist says he has concerns with a recent cannabis marketing campaign from the NSLC, and Tilray’s Aphria RX facility launched its first German-grown cannabis.

The BC Government is looking to seize two properties they say are connected to cannabis trafficking, and a law firm alleges that the SQDC broke provincial rules with its “rotating” SKU pricing.

In our profile series, we featured Todd Veri from Cedar Bug Farms in BC and his life mission to grow the most affordable cannabis in Canada.

It was another busy week in Canadian cannabis finance news, with Cronos, Rubicon Organics, Medipharm Labs, and Avicanna releasing their Q3 2024 reports and the SQDC releasing their Q2 2024 report. Also, Delta 9 has selected a bid from its SISP process, still to be approved by the court on November 15 (results pending).

In law enforcement news, police in Ajax, ON, are searching for three suspects in a cannabis store arson, while an assault with a knife led to two arrests and a raid at an unlicensed cannabis store in Nova Scotia.

Police in Calgary arrested a man who was wanted in connection with several cannabis store robberies earlier this year, while police in Kingston, Ontario raided an unlicensed store, and CBSA authorities seized 40 kg of cannabis on its way to the UK. Police in Quebec made arrests in connection to illicit cannabis.

In other cannabis news

Willow Biosciences Inc. announced that it has advanced work on its proprietary yeast strain for production of THC and plans to commercially launch in the Canadian market.

Radio Canada is reminding people to be wary of cannabis poisoning incidents with their pets, especially dags. D’ya like dags?

City News says more Canadians are aware cannabis can impair driving abilities but notes many still do it.

Dave Berry, the Executive VP at AGLC, spoke with local media about the agency’s new Forget Bad Bud campaign.

The University of Prince Edward Island profiled entrepreneur Sarra Jayasinghe, who owns Ricci Cannabis, which produces cannabis-infused and non-alcoholic wine beverages.

The Journal at Queen’s University says cannabis consumers feel like second-class citizens in a culture awash in overconsumption of booze.

Organigram CEO Beena Goldenberg has once again penned an article on the challenges the company faces with regulations and taxes.

The Honourable Lorne Kusugak is now the Minister responsible for the Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Commission and the Minister responsible for the Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Board.

The Kahnawá:ke Cannabis Control Board (KCCB) will be conducting in-person consultations with residents living in close proximity to recently proposed cannabis store locations.

International cannabis news

Conservatives in Germany say they would reverse legalization. “We don’t want to smoke pot, we want safety and order,” said Tino Sorge, a health policy spokesman for the German center-right CDU/CSU group, whose party has pledged to overturn the legalization of cannabis if they win power in February’s election.

Italy’s flourishing “cannabis light” (hemp) industry risks being uprooted this year when Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni intends to push a bill through parliament to ban any product deriving from the hemp flower. While cannabis production is illegal in Italy, parliament eight years ago authorized trade in hemp.

Within days of seizing 170 pounds of cannabis destined for the United Kingdom, US Customs and Border Protection officers seized 343 more pounds of UK-bound cannabis at an international shipping service facility in Delaware County, PA.

And finally, The American Journal of Public Health published a report on US state recreational and medical cannabis delivery laws.

Israel: Report now proposes up to 175% tax on Canadian cannabis imports

Written by David Brown on November 12, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

Israel’s Ministry of Economy has proposed levies of up to 175% on Canadian cannabis products being sold in the country’s medical cannabis program.

In a report published on November 10, Israel’s Director of Import Administration and Commissioner of Anti-dumping measures at the Ministry of Economy shared the agency’s final report.

The report determined acceptable prices for specific Canadian cannabis companies based on their cooperation with the report and sale prices in the Canadian market. A final ruling on the proposed levies is still pending.

The investigation, which was first announced this past January, was around allegations of “product dumping” of Canadian cannabis into the Israeli market. In July, the government agency released its preliminary report on the topic, proposing tariffs from 63% to 369%, depending on the cooperation of the companies involved.

Initially, the commissioner recommended a floating levy or tariff of 63% for Decibel, 74% for Pure Sunfarms, 112% for Organigram, and 369% for all other producers.

The new, sprawling 126-page final report proposes fees starting as low as 2% for Decibel cannabis, 33% for Village Farms (Pure Sunfarms), 39% for Organigram, and 77% for Tilray. All other companies would face a levy of up to 175%.

The new recommendations are still subject to a final ruling from an advisory committee before potentially coming into force. The preliminary report states that the commission will also submit a report on its findings to the World Trade Organization.

During the investigation, Israeli cannabis companies said they were forced to sell products at or below cost due to competition with lower-priced Canadian cannabis. Producers also said they were forced to destroy large amounts of cannabis they could not sell, in part due to these imports.

Israel imported 78,394 kilograms of cannabis from 2020-2023, with 62,345 kilograms coming from Canada, or approximately 80%. Other countries of origin were Portugal, Uruguay, and Uganda. However, since 2020, the ratio of Israeli products compared to imported cannabis products has increased with domestic cannabis eclipsing imports in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

According to the data from the Israeli Ministry of Health, in 2020, the country imported 14,778 kilograms of cannabis and produced 13,922. By 2023, that figure had shifted to 15,950 kilograms imported (of which 14,408 kg was from Canada) and 51,750 produced domestically.

Israel is not the only country that has seen concerns raised about the impact of Canadian imports. Some cannabis producers in Australia have shared similar concerns.

Many Canadian companies have touted their export sales to countries like Israel as a way to command a better price than in the domestic market and deal with the large volume of product in their vaults.

Despite the increased costs associated with exports, including special approvals and certifications, producers often find better payment terms in the export market than selling into provincial markets, where payments can take weeks or even months.

The new Israeli report includes feedback from Canadian and Israeli cannabis producers and stakeholders. The report argues that Canadian producers sell cannabis into the Israeli market at a lower price than can be sold in the Canadian market, a claim disputed by Canadian stakeholders like the Cannabis Council of Canada and the cannabis companies they interviewed.

Canada’s legalization framework serves as roadmap for Israel and other nations

April 3, 2021

Cannabis industry, Global Affairs Canada disappointed with Israel’s preliminary report

July 23, 2024

Australian cannabis companies are growing weary of Canadian imports

October 29, 2024

Week in Weed – November 9, 2024

Written by Staff on November 9, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This past week at StratCann, we looked at the life and legacy of cannabis cultivars, we spoke to some legal cannabis retailers who say their sales increased following recent raids of nearby unlicensed stores, and BC’s cannabis industry responded to some eyebrow-raising comments from a BC MLA who blames legalization for a recent raid.

In Alberta, AGLC launched its Forget Bad Bud campaign.

A new report from city staff in Winnipeg says there have been no public complaints or licence applications following the designated medical cannabis production zoning amendments adopted in 2022. In related news, the province’s new cannabis home grow law is expected to come into force sometime next year.

In our profile section, this past week, we featured one Toronto cannabis retailer’s success with delivery.

In financial news, Noya Cannabis has applied for creditor protection, Auxly reported its Q3 results, Canopy Growth released its Q2 2025 results (not actually from the future), Village Farms released its Q3 2024 report, Aurora Cannabis released its Q3 2025, and SNDL released its Q3 2024.

In law enforcement news, the OPP’s provincial enforcement team again raided an unlicensed cannabis store in London. Edmonton police are seeking the public’s help identifying suspects in a cannabis shop robbery, and police shut down an illegal hash processing lab in Quebec.

In other cannabis news

Shares in Canada’s major cannabis companies fell (a little) in early trading after the U.S. election, reports the Canadian Press.

Surrey, BC, ran into a few errors in their new cannabis licensing efforts. An application by “137 Brands” was first greenlit to go before council but was replaced at the last minute as it would have been located too close to a school. Now, a second application, UEM, may be too close to a preschool program.

Enforcement staff at the Ontario Securities Commission failed to prove allegations of an “illegal and abusive” short-selling scheme by three market participants from an anticipated spike in demand for Canopy Growth Corp. shares. The case was launched in 2022 and revolved around a complex series of transactions in 2017, including a private placement, a securities lending agreement, and short sales.

The BCGEU ran a profile on an assistant manager at a BC Cannabis Store location.

A man in Ontario is frustrated by the theft of some of his cannabis plants.

CannaPharmaRx says it has completed two shipments of its products to purchasers in Israel. A third shipment of approximately 300 kg is currently in the final stages of preparation and is expected to be dispatched soon. The average price for the third shipment is projected at CAD 2.10 per gram, with final pricing based on batch quality and THC results.

Greenstate ran a piece on Toronto-based Club Lit, which opened next to Body and Mind Cannabis and Lit Research in October.

Tether announced the release of its print edition Holiday Gift Guide with gift-giving inspiration for the holidays.

The Hash Corporation (CSE: REZN) announced its intention to change its name to “Street Capital Inc.” and its ticker symbol to “STRC.”

As part of a larger drug trafficking investigation called Project Bourbon, RCMP seized 111 pounds of cannabis, 8 kilograms of hashish, and 3,500 vials of cannabis oil in Newfoundland.

Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chiefs voted against having a community-wide referendum on the community’s current cannabis policies after the topic was s raised at a Council meeting last week. The Kahnawake Cannabis Control Board (KCCB) recently informed the community of the updated list of seven applicants who have submitted applications for a Dispensary Licence with the KCCB.

The Ottawa Citizen ran a sponsored post for an Indigenous-owned cannabis retailer, Red Roots Trading Company. With one location in Vanier, two in Ottawa, and another Ottawa location expected later this month, the business eschews provincial licensing.

Freedom Cannabis has been granted an extension of its stay period until December 19, 2024. The company sought creditor protection in August.

Leafly reports $8.4 million in revenue (compared to $10.6 million in Q3 2023), but a net loss of $1.1 million for Q3 2024.

Village Farms International, Inc., the parent company of Pure Sunfarms, announced it was one of 25 participants selected for the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s upcoming Administrative Law Judge hearing regarding the proposed rescheduling of marijuana in the United States from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Village Farms was the only cannabis industry operator selected to participate in the Rescheduling Hearing, which is expected to occur sometime in January or February 2025.

International cannabis news

A ballot question that would have legalized the recreational use of cannabis in Florida failed to clear the 60% threshold necessary to pass. It received about 56% of the vote.

Finally, a medical cannabis initiative was passed in Nebraska, but it is facing legal challenges regarding the validity of many of the votes. A decision is not expected for a few weeks.

Noya Holdings Inc. and Noya Cannabis Inc. apply for creditor protection

Written by Sarah Clark on November 8, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Financials.

Noya Holdings Inc. and Noya Cannabis Inc. have applied for creditor protection in an initial order posted on November 6, 2024. Noya’s monitor in the case is BDO Canada Limited.

As part of the cannabis company’s CCAA filing, the court has ordered that all relevant Health Canada and cannabis excise licences held by Noya Cannabis Inc. (NCI) and related companies shall be preserved and maintained during the pendency of the stay period. This included NCI’s ability to sell cannabis inventory, as well as any applicable licence renewals.

The balance of the relief sought by the applicants will be heard in a comeback hearing by the court on November 15, 2024. According to documents online, the applicants’ are insolvent and cannot meet their liabilities as they become due. They have determined that a CCAA proceeding is required to complete a sale process and otherwise address their current challenges by restructuring their operations.

Noya’s known list of creditors shows nearly $10.3 million owed in secured credit and $2.7 million owed to unsecured creditors. Secured creditors are Lending Stream Inc., Terrascend Corp (Gage Growth Corp), and 1955185 Ontario Inc. Unsecured creditors include the Canada Revenue Agency, Health Canada, Pure Sun Farms, High Tide, Kiaro Brands, Ignite International Brands (Canada) Ltd., HiFyre, and many others.

Noya Holdings Inc. (NHI) is the parent company of NCI and 2675383 Ontario Limited (267). First licensed in 2017, NCI holds a cannabis cultivation and processing licence, and 267 holds a micro-cultivation cannabis licence. Both are located in Ontario. The applicants currently employ 18 employees.

Lending Stream Inc. is the applicants’ senior secured creditor. As of August 31, 2024, NHI was indebted to Lending Stream pursuant to a convertible debenture in the approximate amount of nearly $1.9 million. According to records, the owner of Lending Stream is the brother of the applicant’s owner. 1955185 Ontario Inc. is another secured creditor that provided loans to NHI. As of September 30, 2024, 195 had loaned approximately $3.8 million to NHI. The numbered company is owned or controlled by the parents or relatives of the owner of the applicants.

The applicants are also facing various contingent claims in excess of $5 million, including from Pure Sunfarms Corp., Ignite International Brands (Canada) LTD, and 10805696 Canada Inc. o/a Mauve & Herbes. These claims, say documents filed online, are mostly related to contractual disputes and are unsecured.

Noya and its related companies (the applicants) are up-to-date with payments to the Canada Revenue Agency with respect to employment insurance and Canada Pension Plan deductions but owe excise tax remittances and HST remittances.

Winnipeg staff report recommends keeping designated production licensing in place

Written by David Brown on November 5, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Manitoba.

A new report from city staff in Winnipeg says there have been no public complaints or licence applications following the designated medical cannabis production zoning amendments adopted in 2022.

The city adopted their new bylaw to regulate designated medical cannabis production sites in April 2022 following community concerns at such operations occurring in residential areas within the city. Health Canada allows the licensing of designated individuals to grow cannabis for others who are authorized to access cannabis for medical purposes.

Such licences have been under increased scrutiny in the past few years from several municipalities and many Conservative MPs, especially in Ontario, where the OPP says criminal enterprises are exploiting the Health Canada medical, personal and designated cannabis production regime.

A southern Ontario county says they are the first in Canada to take steps to manage personal and designated medical grow licences through local zoning bylaws. Not limited to Ontario, though, in 2022, municipalities in Alberta called for limits on medical cannabis grows in residential areas.

As part of Winnipeg’s 2022 bylaw, city staff were also required to put together a report two years later on the effectiveness of the new licensing program. Staff were given an extra six months in April 2024 to complete the report, which is scheduled to be reviewed by the city’s Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development on November 8.

The report notes that since the program’s implementation, there have been no licence applications for designated cannabis production facilities. It also points out that the city has not received any calls from residents about such licences during this time.

City staff also note that while Health Canada’s public portal said at one point there were around 2,000 designated and personal medical growers operating in Manitoba, as of October 2022, these numbers now show fewer than 20 designated growers in the province.

While personal and designated production licences had seen several years of steady declines, a recent report from Health Canada notes an uptick in licence issuances in 2024, including in Manitoba.

The number of personal and designated medical grow inspections conducted by Health Canada has been increasing in the last few years. There have been more than 300 such inspections in the previous two years.

All such designated growers of cannabis for medical purposes in the City of Winnipeg are required to be licensed under, and comply with, the bylaw. The licensing program allows city officials to conduct inspections, suspend or revoke a licence, or issue a fine if there are health and/or safety concerns.

Manitoba also recently passed a law that will allow people in Manitoba to grow up to four cannabis plants at home, although the law is still not in force. The staff report says that public consultation will be launched through Manitoba’s online consultation platform, EngageMB in the fall of 2024, with proclamation expected to be in early 2025.

City staff does not recommend any changes to the city’s bylaw.

Winnipeg moves one step closer to regulating designated medical cannabis grows

April 5, 2022

Alberta Municipalities calls for limits on medical cannabis grows in residential areas

October 23, 2022

County in Ontario first in Canada to take steps to manage personal and designated medical grows

September 23, 2020

Legal pot shops in Vernon see surge in customers following recent raids

Written by David Brown on November 4, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Retail.

Cannabis retailers in Vernon, BC, say they have seen an increase in new customers in the days following recent raids of several unlicensed stores operating just outside city limits.

Provincial inspectors recently closed down a handful of unlicensed cannabis stores operating on Okanagan Indian Band Land near Vernon over a few days at the end of October. Although those stores have reportedly now reopened, some owners and managers at licensed retail shops in the Vernon area say they saw an increase in new customers following those temporary closures.

“Yes we have seen an increase in customers, especially new customers,” says Sarah Ballantyne, the owner of Spiritleaf Vernon. Ballantyne says her store even had to place a larger weekly order to respond to this increased demand.

She says she has seen similar cycles of new customers following other enforcement actions in the past, which can ebb and flow depending on how fast the raided stores restock and re-open.

“We go through this every once in a while when it happens. It can be a bit of a rollercoaster, but we get restocked every Thursday.” Lower-priced ounces, she notes, have been in particular demand.

Lance Ashlin-Mayo, the manager at Lucid Cannabis in Vernon, says he’s seen a similar increase, if only briefly.

“I have noticed an uptick in sales,” Ashlin-Mayo tells StratCann.

Still, not all of the new customers passing through his doors stick around, he says, as some still balk at the prices in the legal market, as well as the restrictions on edibles that don’t exist in the unregulated or illegal market.

“There’s some things with a legal store, we just cannot compete with them, and that’s flower and concentrates.” he continues. “They can sell flower for like $60 an ounce. I can’t even buy it from the government for $60 an ounce, and that’s before I mark it up. And the government ties my hands on the edibles, while they’re selling gummies with 100 milligrams [THC].”

“I’ve got people coming in and looking at my prices and yelling at me. And then I have people coming in and seeing the 10 mg edibles and turning around.”

“The people that were going to the Green Mile are on the low end of the pay scale. They like their weed, but they only have so much money. A lot of people on disability would go to the Green Mile to get as much as they could for the lowest price. People who have money, go to the legal stores.”

Some of these new people he’s seeing through his front doors stick around; others return to the illegal market as soon as they can.

“I’m a pretty good salesman, but people only have so much money.”

*Ounces for sale at an unlicensed cannabis store near Vernon, BC*

Details emerging in CSU raids on OKIB land near Vernon, BC

October 30, 2024

BC court rejects retailers’ lawsuit calling for enforcement against cannabis stores on First Nations land

September 19, 2023

Indigenous man sues BC over CSU raids of his cannabis store

May 5, 2023

Week in Weed – November 2, 2024

Written by Staff on November 2, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This past week, StratCann looked at claims of product dumping and two-tiered testing from Australian cannabis producers regarding Canadian cannabis imports.

Ontario re-affirmed a $31 million commitment to take on the illicit cannabis market, while a new annual report says New Brunswickers, like much of Canada, prefer convenient cannabis products.

Surrey City Council will consider 12 cannabis store locations, the first in the city, and we looked into some of the details emerging in CSU raids on OKIB land near Vernon, BC. Meanwhile, Decibel Cannabis is set to acquire AgMedica Bioscience.

In Financial news, we looked at the BC LDB’s and Cannabis NB’s most recent quarterly report, annual reports from Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and PEI, as well as Ayurcann’s most recent quarterly report, while a court weighed in on a dispute over Simply Solventless’s stock valuation.

RCMP raided two unlicensed cannabis stores on Vancouver Island, seizing 120,000 “copycat” cannabis edibles, while RCMP in Nova Scotia seized cannabis and psilocybin from an unlicensed store, charging three. Police in Woodstock, NB, arrested two in a raid on October 22.

In other cannabis news

Decibel Cannabis Company Inc. announced that, further to its news release dated October 28, 2024, it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement of up to 58,333,333 common shares in capital for gross proceeds of up to $3,500,000 at $0.06 per Common Share.

Vencanna Ventures Inc., an Alberta-based go-to capital provider for early-stage cannabis initiatives, announced that the Alberta Securities Commission issued a cease trade order against the company on October 25, 2024.

Newly-elected Luke Randall is now Minister responsible for Opportunities NB, Minister responsible for Economic Development and Small Business, and Minister responsible for NB Liquor and Cannabis NB.

RCMP in Halifax says investigators learned that two youths each returned home to find a dozen pre-rolled joints among their Halloween treats.

Following a previously-announced breach of certain financial covenants and other obligations by Entourage Health Corp. under each of its Senior Credit Agreement and Subordinated Credit agreements with an affiliate of the LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada (LPF), Entourage is working collaboratively with LPF to agree on amended debt terms.

Simply Solventless Concentrates Ltd. announced that further to its press releases dated September 26, 2024, and October 18, 2024, it expects approximately 98% of the August 2026 $0.20 warrants to be exercised for proceeds of approximately $2,950,000. SSC also announces that for administrative purposes and varying financial institution purposes, it has extended the expiry of the August 2026 warrants to November 29, 2024.

ABLE BC reminds industry that on Friday, November 15, 2024, starting at 6:00 a.m., the BC Cannabis Wholesale website will be temporarily out-of-service to accommodate an update to the e-commerce platform hosted by Shopify. The outage is expected to last between four and 12 hours. There will be no change to the website user/customer experience with this update.

The Telegraph Journal ran a feature on Organigram.

Delta 9 is now seeking an extension of its stay period up to and including January 31, 2025.

Yukon Liquor Corporation released its annual report for cannabis from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. The territory sold $9.2 million worth of cannabis in the most recent year, up from $7.7 million in the year prior.

The Tokyo Smoke store at 333 Yonge Street in downtown Toronto is now going to be a One Plant Cannabis store.

The “Industrial Hemp Market Report Forecast by Type, Sources, Application, Region Companies Analysis 2024-2032″ has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.

A recent study says frequent cannabis use may improve sleep for young adults with depression and/or anxiety who have pre-existing sleep problems, but worsen sleep for young adults without depression and/or anxiety.

Another study found that participants who used cannabis in the 30 days before the survey reported significantly higher loneliness scores than those who never used cannabis, after adjusting social-demographic, social interaction, and pandemic-related factors.

Cannabis use during pregnancy can impact thinking and learning skills and increase aggression among children, according to this new study.

In a city council meeting on October 21, the Burnaby BC council approved a measure to allow private cannabis stores to apply in certain sub-districts in the city. Before this, only government-run BC Cannabis stores were allowed.

International cannabis news

Prosecutors recently indicted a Canadian dental assistant after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32 kilograms of cannabis into Taiwan. The 30-year-old female suspect was arrested on August 4 after arriving on a flight to Taoyuan International Airport.

A Canadian woman arrested earlier this year for importing cannabis into the UK was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment on October 24.

Two major programs to combat illegal cannabis in California sent out news releases lauding their collective seizures of some $544 million worth of illicit weed. But when it comes to reigning in California’s sprawling black market, experts say it’s just a drop in the bucket, reports the LA Times.

Freakonomics Radio continued its four-part series on the cannabis industry in the US. The parallels with the issues facing the Canadian industry and market are unmistakable.

Arizona residents are now able to get recreational cannabis delivered to their homes as of Friday, marking a new milestone for a state program that until now had allowed the service only for medical cannabis patients. Recreational cannabis sales began in Arizona in 2021 under a voter-approved ballot initiative.

A law that New York City has relied on to padlock scores of suspected unlicensed cannabis shops is unconstitutional because it violates the rights of store owners, a judge ruled Tuesday.

The German cities of Frankfurt and Hannover are model projects aimed at testing controlled retail sales in specialized stores, scheduled to launch in early 2025. Hannover’s project will involve up to three official sales locations at pharmacies, with a five-year timeline. In Frankfurt, the model project follows a similar structure but will operate within dedicated cannabis stores

.A Berlin-based cannabis company acquired and analyzed 300 samples of illicit cannabis from across Germany and several international cities. They found 32% of the illegal cannabis samples contained hairspray, 47% cocaine, and 65% had feces. Even more common are bacteria and viruses (74%) and dangerous pesticides (71%).

Surrey City Council to consider 12 cannabis stores, the first in the city

Written by David Brown on November 1, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Government, Retail.

City Staff are recommending that Surrey City Council initiate rezoning applications on behalf of the eight successful applicants at twelve locations to permit Cannabis Retail on the proposed sites.

The recommendation will be presented at a council meeting on Monday, November 4. The staff report intends to inform the council of the successful applicants to the Request for Expressions of Interest for Cannabis Retail.

Surrey City Council released a proposal for up to 12 cannabis stores in BC’s second-largest city in early 2024, approving the plan in April. The city has said it would consider up to two locations for each of its six distinct communities: Whalley/City Centre, Newton, South Surrey, Guildford, Cloverdale, and Fleetwood.

If the council approves the recommendations in the report, staff will then begin a site-specific rezoning application for council consideration on behalf of each of the selected applicants to permit cannabis retail use at their proposed locations.

If the rezoning of a property to permit cannabis retail use is approved, prospective retailers would then need to get a business license from Surrey.

City staff screened out six applications on the basis of an incomplete submission submitted within the RFEOI period. The remaining applications were then deemed eligible for the second stage evaluation.

The results of this secondary selection process identified that the successful applications in each of the communities are:

Whalley/City Centre
- “Dutch Love Cannabis” #201-13650 102 Avenue
- “Local Cannabis” 10449 King George Boulevard
Newton
- “Imagine Cannabis” #502-7380 King George Boulevard
- “Surrey Cannabis Connection”
South Surrey
- Burb Cannabis” #108-15775 Croydon Drive
- “Dutch Love Cannabis” #125-16030 24 Avenue
Fleetwood
- “Inspired Cannabis” #103-9014 152 Street
- “Surrey Cannabis Connection” 15148 Fraser Highway
Cloverdale
- “137 Brands” 17608 56 Avenue
- “Queensborough Cannabis” 19581 Fraser Highway
Guildford
- “Inspired Cannabis” 10383 150 Street
- “Imagine Cannabis” #5-10330 152 Street

Ontario affirms $31 million commitment to take on illicit cannabis market

Written by David Brown on October 30, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Ontario, Retail.

The Ontario government has affirmed their plan to invest $31 million over the next three years to take on illegal cannabis stores.

As part of Ontario’s 2024 economic and fiscal outlook in brief, the provincial government is committing to investing $31 million over the next three years to support the Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Teams (PJFCET). This OPP-led centralized enforcement unit focuses on the cannabis file.

This investment, says the government, would enable the PJFCET to “respond to the challenge of illegal online operators and crack down further on the production, sale and distribution of illegal cannabis in the online and offline space.”

The new economic and fiscal outlook in brief is an affirmation of the province’s previous 2024 budget, which had referenced the $31 million commitment.

Earlier this year, Toronto City Council passed a motion asking the province to undertake a comprehensive review of the Provincial Cannabis Control Act, 2017. The motion says a review is “imperative to ensure the effective regulations and enforcement of cannabis-related matters” in Ontario.

Municipalities need more tools and resources to address these illegal cannabis businesses, the motion read, including “exploring options to strengthen enforcement measures, increase penalties for non-compliance, and improve collaboration between municipalities and provincial authorities.”

*An unlicensed cannabis store in downtown Ottawa operating as an “Indigenous trading post” according to a sign on the window.* Image from StratCann.

The illicit market in Ontario has been growing considerably in the past year, and many retailers and other cannabis industry participants have been calling on the province to do more. By some estimates, several hundred new, unlicensed retailers have begun operating in different parts of Ontario in the past year, with close to 100 in Toronto alone. While some have faced enforcement, many have not, causing frustration for licensed retailers who incur numerous fees in order to operate with the province’s approval.

Toronto cannabis store owner Paul McGovern, a former police officer with Toronto Police Services who stepped down in 2018 to open Vertie Cannabis, told StratCann earlier this year that he believes Ontario needs more of a province-wide approach to enforcement, similar to the approaches provinces like British Columbia and New Brunswick have taken.

McGovern also argues that public awareness is an issue. While store owners might follow this closely, the general public, municipal and provincial lawmakers, and the legal system in general might not. While some in the justice system might still think the landscape is similar to the wave of stores opening in the years before legalization, he says the arguments that might have held up in court then will not now.

“I get the impression that maybe not everybody in the justice system is aware of what’s going on. We’re hyper focused on this in our industry but I don’t think the same is true for the general public or for police agencies. So part of the challenge is helping them understand how different things are today than in, say, 2016.”

Raj Grover, CEO of High Tide, which operates more than 70 of its Canna Cabana retail cannabis locations in the province, welcomed the new announcement in the budget.

“As Canada’s largest cannabis retail chain with 72 stores + over 700 employees in Ontario, we at [High Tide] welcome the Ontario gov FES commitment to help law enforcement crack down on illegal cannabis promotion/advertising,” wrote Grover in a Tweet. “We look forward to seeing more details as they are released.”

Ontario’s portion of the federal cannabis excise duty, which is 75% of every dollar collected, is expected to be around $379 million in 2024-2025. The province brought in $215 million in 2021-2022, $310 million in 2022-2023, and $344 million in 2023-2024 (interim figure).

The Ontario Cannabis Store brought in $186 million in 2021-2022, $234 million in 2022-2023, $242 million in 2023-2024, and is projected to bring in $225 million in 2024-2025.

Ontario to add $31 million to budget to deal with increasing number of illegal cannabis stores

March 26, 2024

OPP shut down six “Indige Smoke” locations, building subject to closure orders

June 14, 2024

Toronto police asking for $1.5 million to deal with legal cannabis

April 12, 2021

In 2018, Ontario set aside $40 million over two years to help cities manage the implementation and oversight of cannabis legalization. The first $30 million was distributed in 2019, with $10 million set aside for unforeseen costs. Ontario also invested $3.26 million to support municipalities through enhanced enforcement against illegal cannabis operations.

This plan, called the Ontario Cannabis Legislation Implementation Fund (O.C.L.I.F.), was to be used for increased enforcement (e.g. police, public health and by-law enforcement, court administration, litigation), increased response to public inquiries (e.g. 311 calls, correspondence), increased paramedic services, increased fire services, and by-law/policy development (e.g. police, public health, workplace safety policy).

Ontario has distributed four payments from this fund, with cities receiving at least $5,000 each payment. Toronto received just over $3 million for its first payment, $3.7 million for its second, and $1.5 million for its third, and just last month received the fourth and final payment of $747,954 for a total of just under $9 million.

The cost of policing and enforcement has been a major part of municipal budgets all across Canada, with a significant portion of cannabis tax revenue and other related funding going to police, enforcement, fire and emergency services as it relates to cannabis legalization. This is in addition to costs associated with developing and maintaining municipal zoning rules and bylaws.

Toronto police asked for an additional $1.5 million from the city in 2021 to address the cost of cannabis-related enforcement in the department.

Toronto Police Services’ (TPS) 2022 operating budget noted that the department had a balance of $3 million in reserve, with an expected $500 million in funds withdrawn that year. It was projected to have just over $1 million in reserve for these funds in 2023 and just over $500,000 in the beginning of 2024.

Those numbers were updated in the 2023 budget to an expected $136,000 after withdrawing nearly $2 million.

When negotiating for a 75% share of all federal cannabis excise taxes collected, provinces argued that the costs of addressing the new cannabis laws in Canada would largely be borne by themselves, cities, and law enforcement.

According to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), municipal administration and local policing costs linked to the legalization of cannabis will total $3-4.75 million per 500,000 residents.

Ontario cannabis retailers frustrated by increasing number of unlicensed stores

October 22, 2024

Ontario needs coordinated approach to deal with growing number of unlicensed cannabis stores

August 12, 2024

Brighton, Ontario looks to manage personal/designated medical grows through proposed bylaw

October 5, 2020

Australian cannabis companies are growing weary of Canadian imports

Written by David Brown on October 29, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Producers.

As Australia’s domestic medical cannabis market evolves, some companies are becoming frustrated with the country’s ongoing reliance on cannabis imports from Canada.

Still, others say demand is being driven by consumer preference.

Australia legalized medical cannabis in 2016, and by 2017, Canadian cannabis companies were announcing exports of cannabis oil and flower to the country. Although many of these initial shipments were relatively small (just the equivalent of 200 grams in 2017), by 2021, Canadian companies exported nearly 5,800 kg of cannabis; by 2023, that figure was over 34,000 kg.

The early reliance on imports came at a time when Australia’s domestic industry was in its infancy. But in late 2024, some of these companies recently told the country’s Sydney Morning Herald that they are struggling to compete with what some characterize as product “dumping”.

These accusations mirror similar ones levied by the Israeli government earlier this year to the dismay of Global Affairs Canada.

Some cannabis companies in Australia say that much of the cannabis being imported from Canada is of lower quality and that the products have fewer checks on quality than what is produced by Australian companies.

“I have no issue with imports coming here; the issue is that because they have surplus product, they’re dumping it here, which makes things difficult for local cultivators,” Nan-Maree Schoerie, managing director of ECS Botanics, tells the Herald. ECS is an Australian cultivator and manufacturer of medicinal cannabis.

StratCann also spoke with Schoerie about the issue. She explained that while some of the Canadian cannabis products coming into Australia are good quality, she thinks some companies are unloading lower-quality products from their vaults due to an oversupply in Canada.

“We have a product that comes into Australia from Canada that is extraordinarily good quality, probably for the extra years of experience,” she tells StratCann. “But there’s also an enormous amount of product that we believe is coming from stockpiling in Canada.

“That product is flooding into Australia. It’s not necessarily fresh, it’s not necessarily great, but they can sell it at a very low price.”

The export market is a good opportunity for Canadian companies to offload lower-quality product, but she notes this pushes the price down in Australia just as it has in Canada. While growers in Australia could get around AU$6 a gram, wholesale, in 2023, Schoerie says in 2024 that has dropped to around $4-4.50.

“That is a direct consequence of the amount of product that has come in, primarily from Canada.”

Schoerie notes that her own company exports products, as well, and doesn’t blame Canadian companies, or any others for finding markets for their products where they can.

Ultimately, she says the issue is one created by the Australian government, specifically the agency that oversees Australia’s cannabis for medical purposes program, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

She explains this because the TGA, which requires Australian companies to have GMP compliance, allows companies importing their products into Australia to use a “loophole” to have them packaged in a GMP-compliant facility. She also says the TGA doesn’t have the resources to ensure the facilities that package goods in Canada adhere to Australian requirements.

Andrew Dowling, the director at an Australian cannabis wholesaler called Phytoca that focuses primarily on imports, pushes back against this argument, saying that being processed in a GMP facility in Canada or Australia is still the same standard.

“The actual growing of cannabis is not covered under GMP, anywhere in the world, because it’s not a manufacturing activity,” argues Dowlin. “It’s cultivation.”

The issue of product “dumping”, he says, is one being pushed by companies who simply aren’t meeting the international market’s demands, both in terms of price, but also in terms of quality.

“If these governments really had a problem with Canadian imports, there are levers at their disposal that they could be pulling on to turn it off.”

“It’s wrong to claim it’s being dumped. That product is being ordered because there’s a commercial opportunity and the demand is driven by the price point that is unmatched by Australian companies. If Australian companies could find a solution to that, they’d be doing it.”

Deepak Anand, an industry consultant in Canada who assists cannabis companies with exports into countries like Australia, echoes these sentiments.

“Whether it be Germany, Australia, or Israel, Canadian products are of a better quality than domestic supply. This is a reflection of what the market wants rather than this alleged dumping, which hasn’t been proven anywhere.

“I think this notion of dumping, which was started by the Israelis—it’s catchy and sounds like something nefarious is going on—but the fact of the matter is Canadian products are just of a higher quality so that’s why there’s a demand for it.”

Canadian cannabis companies have indeed been dealing with domestic price compression from an excess of supply that has led many companies to lean into the export market. Exports are seen as an easier and, at times, more lucrative path to market than selling domestically, since exports are often bulk sales and are not subject to Canada’s federal excise tax of $1 per gram.

The oversupply of cannabis in Canada that has pushed many companies to the export market has, in the past year or so, also had the effect of relieving some of that downward pressure on domestic prices. While exports don’t appear to be slowing down, it’s possible that the international market will begin to find some balance.

Week in Weed – October 26, 2024

Written by Staff on October 26, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International, Producers, Retail.

This past week at StratCann, we looked at a new report about cannabis in the Yukon that highlighted, among other things, the need for cannabis consumption spaces for tourists. At the same time, Manitoba extended its pause of “controlled access” licensing for another 18 months.

The AGLC released a memo last week on cannabis sampling that they quickly walked back this week.

A new study out of New Brunswick shows high levels of pesticides found in illegal cannabis vapes.

Weed Me recalled one lot of its Ripped cannabis pre-rolls from Alberta, a BC pot shop was fined for selling cannabis at too low of a price, Radicle Femmes celebrates Canadian women in weed this November, and Trichome Consulting Services was excited to be named 2024 Cannabis Consulting Compliance Company.

Our most recent in-depth Insight piece from Jon Hiltz looks at how Ontario cannabis retailers are frustrated by the increasing number of unlicensed stores.

In other Cannabis news

Retail cannabis sales were up month-over-month in every province in August except BC, which saw a slight decline from July. (“c” data quality: good)

Winnipeg cannabis retailers are increasingly suffering from smash-and-grab style break-ins, writes the Winnipeg Free Press. Author Tyler Searle speaks with Dawn Le Sage, inventory manager at Star Buds Cannabis Co., who says the store has been hit seven times in the last 18 months.

The Regional Municipality of Grand Falls, New Brunswick is calling for more measures to be taken to prevent the establishment of illegal cannabis stores on its territory and elsewhere in New Brunswick, reports the Acadie Nouvelle.

CTV News in Edmonton spoke with local retailer Doug Zimmerman, owner of the Cannabis Cellar, as well as others about the state of cannabis in Edmonton 6 years after legalization.

An unlicensed cannabis shop in London, Ontario, Spirit River Cannabis, which was raided by police this summer, has reopened in a new trailer just metres away from one that previously housed the business, reports the London Free Press’ Dale Carruthers.

About a 90-minute drive north, Ontario cannabis retailer The Cannabis Guys shared a press release about its store in Goderich, Ontario.

A cannabis store rezoning application in Chilliwack, BC, was referred back to staff after some councillors felt local veterans needed to be consulted beforehand. One councillor said they had no problem with the location, noting that the building used to be a beer-and-wine store.

Campaign Canada looked at the OCS’ Buzz Kill pop-up store in Toronto that included video footage from the store. LBB Online carried a similar write-up on the public education initiative.

The OCS ran a feature on Waterloo’s Uptown Herb.

An Ontario Superior Court Justice approved another stay extension relating to the BZAM/Final Bell case through to and including December 2, 2024, and approved the Share Purchase Agreement dated August 23, 2024, among BZAM Holdings Inc. as vendor, BZAM Management Inc. as target, 1000912353 Ontario Inc. as Purchaser and Wyld Canada Inc. as an interested third-party.

SNDL Inc. and Nova Cannabis Inc. announced the successful completion of the privatization of Nova. The arrangement was approved by at least two-thirds of the holders of Nova shares.

High Tide Inc. announced a new Canna Cabana in Kingston, Ontario, as of 4:20 PM on October 31^st, 2024. This opening will mark High Tide’s 186th Canna Cabana branded retail cannabis location in Canada, the 72nd in the province of Ontario, and the first in Kingston.

Quebec cannabis company The Good Shroom Co Inc. announced the launch of DYP’s, a THC-infused pouch product, into the Alberta market. Resembling nicotine pouches like Zyn and Zonnic, the DYP pouches contain 10 mg THC and come 10 to a pack.

Herbal Dispatch Inc. announced the expansion of its direct delivery service to Saskatchewan.

A new poll from Research Co. says that most Canadians still regard cannabis legalization in a favourable light, and just over half of cannabis users they surveyed (51%) are acquiring “all” of their product at licensed retailers.

UCalgary will host a “Cannabis Cafe” on November 4 and 7. The Cannabis Cafe is a space for people to learn more about recreational and medicinal use in an informed way. The event will include trivia and discussion about cannabis, harm reduction, and challenging cannabis-related stigma.

A new video from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) presents the details of the Quebec cannabis control regime and its impacts compared to the rest of Canada.

The McGill Research Centre for Cannabis and the QAQCC will host the 4th Cannabis Scientific Symposium: From Plants to People from May 5-6, 2025, at the RI-MUHC in Montreal, QC. More info available here soon.

And, as always, don’t give out your expensive cannabis edibles to kids on Halloween, and make sure to check your kids’ candy for some sweet scores.

A suspended Saskatoon pharmacist accused in the trafficking of Oxycodone, cannabis, and meth was committed to stand trial on seven drug and weapon-related charges. The investigation began in January 2023 after pills seized at three locations were traced back to Ternan and the pharmacy. Officers found 20,285 grams of methamphetamine, 8,040 grams of cannabis, and hundreds of Oxycodone pills. Three men were charged.

International news

Uruguay’s cannabis regulator, the IRCCA, is calling for construction companies interested in building a plant nursery on the property owned by IRCCA in Libertad, San José. The opening of bids will take place on Friday, November 15, 2024.

Some cannabis companies in Australia are airing grievances about the amount of Canadian cannabis making it into Australia’s medical market. The author speaks with Nan-Maree Schoerie of ECS Botanics and Peter Koetsier, chair of Medicinal Cannabis Industry Australia—more on this from StratCann next week.

The New York Attorney General secured a US$9.5 million judgment against an unlicensed cannabis store owner: a combination of $1 million from the profit of sales and more than $8.4 million in administrative fines and penalties. The owner had been previously warned.

A proposal has been tabled in France aimed at further extending the country’s long-running medical cannabis ‘experiment’ to ensure patients can keep receiving their medication amid government inaction, reports Ben Stevens at Business of Cannabis.

A sixty-year-old woman from Lozère, in the southwest of France, is in trouble after filing a complaint for the repeated theft of her cannabis plants.

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a 41-year-old Canadian woman, Adrienne Munju, to 11 years imprisonment for importing 35.20 kilogrammes of “Canadian Loud” (Cannabis) into Nigeria. Referencing several recent seizures of cannabis from Canada totalling 341.025 kg, the country’s Deputy Narcotics Commander, Tin Can NDLEA, Adanu Edoh, said, “What you are seeing now, they are all coming from Canada, which we never expected that drugs will come from there.”

BC pot shop fined for selling cannabis at too low of a price

Written by David Brown on October 25, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Government, Retail.

A cannabis store in BC has been ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for selling cannabis at too low of a price.

Cost Cannabis in Revelstoke, BC was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine after it was ruled in a hearing in October that it had violated provincial rules that prevent a retailer from selling cannabis at a price below the price that the licensee paid to the government for the cannabis, and below the wholesale price of the cannabis on the day the licensee sells it to the patron.

A Notice of Enforcement Action (NOEA) issued to the business alleged that on April 22, 2024, BC’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) received a complaint that the retailer was advertising all products and accessories in the store were for sale at 50% off.

Following that report, an LCRB inspector conducted an inspection of the store on April 25. In the report, the inspector noted that they had asked about four specific products, and the staff member they spoke with confirmed that their sale prices were lower than their list prices.

A few days later, on April 29, the same inspector then sent a request to the store licensee asking for a list of cannabis products inventory, a list of cannabis sales records, monthly Health Canada reports, and cannabis purchase records for January through April. The licensee provided responses to these requests in May, except for the monthly Health Canada compliance reports.

Through this process, the inspector determined that the retailer had sold products below the price they paid the provincial wholesale distributor (LDB) for them.

From the options of a one to three-day licence suspension and/or a $1,000-$3,000 monetary penalty, the licence holder received a $1,000 fine. This was because it was the retailer’s first violation of this type within a one-year period.

The retail licence holder admitted that the province’s minimum pricing rules had been broken, accepting a financial penalty, but also argued that the rule for minimum pricing is not effective in the government’s stated goal of preventing over-service and/or over-consumption.

Instead, they argue the rule should be changed.

“The Licensee says the historical illegal market in cannabis sales continues to be significant,” reads the document. “These ‘grey sale’ cannabis products can and are being sold cheaper than the government-supplied cannabis products, and this disparity is pushing the industry to remain underground. This (the underground market) is much more likely to be a source of over-service and over-consumption than sales by Licensees for less than the minimum pricing. This is especially concerning as the grey market products may be tainted and are not as safe as the government-supplied products.”

The licensee will be required to pay the $1,000 penalty to the general manager of the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch, on or before November 23, 2024. Signs will also need to be posted within the store showing that a monetary penalty has been imposed, and be placed in a prominent location by a Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch inspector or a police officer.

Featured image of a Cost Cannabis location in Ontario

Trichome Consulting Services named 2024 Cannabis Consulting Compliance Company

Written by Contributor on October 25, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News.

In a recent press release, Trichome Consulting Services (TCSI) announced that it has been awarded the prestigious title of Cannabis Consulting Compliance of the Year in Canada 2024. This award reflects the company’s exceptional reputation and the trust it has earned among its clients and industry peers.

TCSI emerged as the winner after an exhaustive evaluation process conducted by a distinguished panel of C-level executives, industry thought leaders, and an editorial board. The numerous nominations submitted by satisfied subscribers of TCSI underscored the company’s continued commitment to delivering top-tier consulting and compliance solutions in the cannabis sector.

“This recognition reaffirms our dedication to providing exceptional cannabis consulting and compliance services,” said John Karroll, Founder of Trichome Consulting Services. “We are honored by the trust our clients have placed in us, and we look forward to continuing to support businesses in the cannabis industry with the highest level of service and expertise.”

With a proven track record in helping cannabis businesses navigate complex regulatory environments, TCSI has become a trusted partner for companies across Canada, offering tailored compliance solutions and expert guidance. TCSI invites cannabis businesses looking for compliance support to reach out for a no-obligation video consultation to explore how the company can help them navigate the ever-changing regulatory landscape.

About Trichome Consulting Services

Trichome Consulting Services (TCSI) is a leading cannabis compliance and consulting firm dedicated to helping cannabis businesses across Canada meet their regulatory requirements. With a focus on providing practical and strategic solutions, TCSI is committed to ensuring its clients remain compliant and competitive in the fast-evolving cannabis industry.

TCSI experts crafting solutions built for global markets

TCSI delivers exceptional results through a distinguished team renowned in the cannabis industry. A team of specialists with deep expertise in compliance, site design, and other critical areas ensures clients have the tools and knowledge to excel while facilities meet stringent regulatory standards. Driven by a culture of excellence and global readiness, the team helps clients remain compliant while crafting world-class operational designs. This expertise empowers clients to confidently expand into global markets, backed by a team that understands local and international demands. Aiming for long-term success beyond immediate compliance requirements, TCSI guides clients through all the intricacies and operational demands, establishing itself as a prominent force in the global cannabis industry.

As the industry moves toward international trade, businesses face the added challenge of steering through the global cannabis market. This involves securing licenses in Canada and partnering with companies worldwide to expand into new markets.

TCSI has strong partnerships worldwide, including in Europe, Central America, and Australia, and ongoing discussions with governments in Mexico and Belize. Leveraging these relationships assists clients who want to export their products to varied countries, even those with stringent regulations.

For inquiries, please contact:

John Karroll (CEO), Trichome Consulting Services Inc.
[email protected], Direct Ph: 250-575-4725

Sponsored Content by: Trichome Consulting Services Inc.

AGLC quickly corrects course on sampling rule change

Written by David Brown on October 23, 2024. Posted in Alberta, Business, Cannabis News, Government.

Alberta’s cannabis regulator is walking back a recent rule change for cannabis sampling, saying some of the messaging in an industry memo was incorrect.

In a memo that was sent out to cannabis companies on Friday, October 18, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) said cannabis sampling could only take place in retail cannabis stores. The agency now says that parts of that memo were not accurate and sampling activities can still be conducted in age gated settings like industry events, not only retail stores.

The previous memo, the provincial agency now says, was only intended to serve as a reminder of existing policy.

“There was an error in the memo that went out on October 18,” a media representative for AGLC said in an email to StratCann. “AGLC apologizes for the confusion and any frustration this may have caused. An updated letter was sent today to clarify that policy has not changed and update the information that was shared with cannabis licensees.”

“The previous letter incorrectly stated that samples may only be provided in retail cannabis stores. The updated letter clarifies that policy does allow cannabis representatives and retail cannabis store licensees to promote cannabis products and accessories in places where persons under the age of 18 are prohibited. This provision allows for cannabis representatives to provide cannabis licensees samples at locations where minors are prohibited such as an industry event. The intent of the letter was to remind cannabis licensees that samples cannot be provided or sold to the public.”

Responding to concerns expressed in a StratCann article earlier this week, a new memo to industry from AGLC also notes that a “cannabis licensee” who is authorized to receive a cannabis sample can include those representing and acting on behalf of a licensee, such as a store manager.

This is not the first time such messaging had to be walked back by the agency. In September 2023, the AGLC reversed course after a policy change to delist products containing CBN was said to be based on a misinterpretation of federal messaging.

AGLC reduces SKU listing fee listing for cannabis producers

October 1, 2023

AGLC reverses decision on including CBN, THCV in THC total

September 18, 2023

AGLC delisting more than 500 cannabis SKUs

May 24, 2024

Manitoba extending pause of “controlled access” licensing another 18 months

Written by David Brown on October 23, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Manitoba, Retail.

Manitoba is extending its review of licences that allow some convenience stores to sell cannabis.

Earlier this year, Manitoba announced that it was pausing its “controlled access” licensing, which allowed cannabis sales in convenience stores, until October. In an announcement reported by the Canadian Press, the province is extending that moratorium for another 18 months, to December 31, 2025.

Such controlled access licences allow for cannabis to be sold in convenience stores and gas stations that carry other non-cannabis products. According to provincial rules, businesses holding a controlled-access licence may allow young persons to enter the store, but cannabis must not be visible or accessible.

“This is a very important issue, and the province wants to make sure we get this right,” said Glen Simard, the minister responsible for the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, in a written statement, as reported by the Canadian Press.

“That’s why we are extending the pause to continue our consultations.”

Some cannabis retailers in the province have, in the past, expressed concern about such licences. Melanie Bekevich, the owner of Mistik Cannabis in Winnipeg and a member of the Retail Cannabis Council of Manitoba (RCCMB), told StratCann in April that the organization had met with the Manitoba government to express their concerns with how these licences are being issued.

When the moratorium was first announced, Edwardo Famakin, a spokesperson for Manitoba cannabis producer WOWKPOW, told StratCann that he and his partners were “blindsided” by the announcement as they were in the final stages of receiving approval for an agreement with Manitoba retail/gas station Domo to supply the chain with their locally-produced cannabis products.

At the same time, Raj Grover, the CEO of High Tide Cannabis, which operates several Canna Cabana cannabis stores in the province, said he had concerns that the licences were being granted in ways that may not have fit with the intention of the rule.

“We applaud Manitoba’s new NDP government for confirming today that it will place a six-month moratorium on new controlled access cannabis retail licences,” said Grover in April. “These licences were intended to provide access to legal cannabis in rural communities without an established legal retail cannabis store; however, many of the controlled access licences were granted to convenience and grocery stores within downtown Winnipeg. We hope that the six-month review will help establish important guardrails to ensure that these licences are limited to underserviced communities only, as was originally intended.”

Manitoba businesses caught off guard by province’s recent “pause” on “controlled access” retail cannabis licences

May 3, 2024

First of Manitoba’s new “phase three” cannabis retailers to open soon

July 31, 2020

Five private cannabis distributors now fully licensed by Manitoba’s LGCA

July 4, 2024

AGLC says sampling restricted to retail store owners in Alberta (This decision has now been reversed)

Written by David Brown on October 21, 2024. Posted in Alberta, Business, Cannabis News, Government, Producers.

The AGLC is reminding the Canadian cannabis industry that cannabis product samples may only be provided by provincially-registered cannabis representatives within retail stores.

Note: AGLC has now said this memo was incorrect. You can read about this correction here.

The provincial cannabis regulator (Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis) sent out a memo on October 18 to all cannabis licensees, representatives, and suppliers, reminding them of the province’s rules around cannabis sampling.

While AGLC allowed cannabis sampling in 2023, cannabis suppliers must be registered with AGLC as “cannabis representatives,” and samples can only be provided by those representatives directly to retail cannabis store licensees in retail cannabis stores.

These product samples, reminds AGLC, are for licensee use only and may not be provided directly to a licensee’s staff or the general public.

The memo also notes that “AGLC inspectors attended recent cannabis industry events and observed Cannabis Representatives and Cannabis Suppliers providing cannabis product samples to event attendees.”

From the memo:

“Cannabis product samples may only be provided by Cannabis Representatives directly to Retail Cannabis Store Licensees in retail cannabis stores. Cannabis product samples are for licensee use only and may not be provided to a licensee’s staff or the general public. They must meet all Health Canada requirements including packaging, labeling and federal compliance reporting. Records of all cannabis product sampling activities must be retained for 6 years. Cannabis Suppliers are not permitted to represent or promote cannabis products in Alberta including engaging in cannabis product sampling activities unless they are a registered Cannabis Representative with AGLC. Cannabis Representatives and Cannabis Suppliers may not sell or give away cannabis products in Alberta.”

Trina Fraser, who works with many clients in the cannabis industry as a partner at Brazeau Seller Law in Ottawa, says she has some initial questions about the new guidance provided in the memo.

“The clarification that samples can only be provided within retail cannabis stores (thereby prohibiting the provision of samples at industry events taking place outside of a retail store) is new,” Fraser tells StratCann via email. “That said, it has always been clear that the quantity limit is on a ‘per licensee’ basis (as opposed to a ‘per budtender’ basis), making compliant distribution at events challenging.

“It is interesting, though, that they say samples are ‘for licensee use only and may not be provided to a licensee’s staff’,” she adds. “Most licensees are corporations. How does a corporation “use” cannabis? Who exactly are you providing the sample to, if not to a staff member?”

Randy Rowe, CEO and President of the Grow Up Conference and Expo, which held its two-day industry conference and trade show in Edmonton in September, said he’s surprised by the memo and is prepared to take all steps necessary to ensure his event and its attendees remain compliant.

“I agree that there needs to be strict processes for handing out samples,” says Rowe, who has worked with other provinces to ensure that all his events carefully track any sampling activities that may occur at his trade shows—information he’s happy to provide to regulators as well as brands.

“It’s not affordable for smaller craft growers to compete with larger producers that can go store to store providing samples,” adds Rowe. “Holding events that allow compliant sampling is essential for brands to get their product to as many retail cannabis store licensees as possible. By allowing compliant sampling, brands can hit hundreds of retail stores in one day, saving thousands of dollars.”

Jen Meyers, CEO & Founder of Alberta-based micro processor Zelca Ltd., tells StratCann that she would prefer to see the province find a way to regulate sampling at events because it’s more cost-effective for smaller companies like hers rather than needing to hire a marketing agency to visit hundreds of stores across the province.

“Do you know how hard it is to get to all the stores? It’s very nice to be able to go to an event and talk to 30 retailers in an hour. They can’t just kill that altogether. How can I, as a small producer, get out to all those stores if I do want to give them samples?”

The AGLC lists more than 700 licensed cannabis retailers in the province.

Kendra Richter, an assistant manager at Calgary Co-op Cannabis, says she’s open to guidance, but is left with more questions than answers with the way the memo is worded.

“I agree that there needs to be strict processes for handing out samples. The surprise here is this feels over and above the initial cannabis sampling policy. It’s interesting that they put this policy in place and let it run for over a year and are now adding to it in this way.”

Two key pieces she’s reaching out to the AGLC to get more clarity on are the requirement that samples be provided to the licensee rather than a store owner, manager, or buyer and if the part about samples not going to employees applies to store managers like herself, as well.

“The way this has been presented is as if it’s just making sure we’re aware [of existing policy], but I think more questions need to be asked so we can know what this really means.”

Alberta’s rules for cannabis sampling allow for a maximum size of 3.5 grams of flower or its equivalent in other product types. For products that are not available in that small of SKU size, the smallest available product may be used instead. Records of all samples provided must be retained for six years and are subject to AGLC review upon request. Each product may be sampled no more than twice in a calendar year.

*The Kind cannabis sampling event took place in Edmonton recently.*

Health Canada confirms cannabis samples are allowed

February 12, 2024

Alberta makes changes to cannabis sampling rules, event sales, and more

January 31, 2024

BC gov reviewing cannabis sampling rules for producers, retailers

August 3, 2023

Yukon cannabis report highlights need for cannabis consumption spaces for tourists

Written by David Brown on October 21, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Retail, Yukon.

Municipalities in the Yukon say there is a need for public consumption spaces in the Territory to provide a legal space for tourists to smoke cannabis when visiting.

Currently, cannabis consumption is only allowed in a private residence in the Yukon, and adjoining property, although the Territory’s regulations do allow for other possibilities for other types of locations in the future.

Despite this ban, in a recent survey, municipalities told the territory about what they say are high rates of cannabis smoking and vaping in outdoor public spaces. The territory sees hundreds of thousands of tourists annually, a significant part of the economy.

This call for public cannabis spaces was just one of many pieces of feedback provided to the Yukon government as part of its recently released five-year review of its cannabis legislation and regulations, as well as the overall impact of federal legalization.

In a new What We Heard report, which helped to inform its Five Year Review report, an array of issues are highlighted from the 307 responses received, as well as engagement with First Nations, municipalities and local advisory councils, RCMP, MADD, and many other organizations and government officials.

Among the feedback and recommendations:

Concern with “normalization” and public consumption, overall health risks, youth use rates, and impaired driving, including consumption while driving.
Concern about illicit online stores and what RCMP say are challenges with enforcement.
Call for more education of the general public about the harms and effects of cannabis.
Better insight is into how the government uses cannabis tax revenues.
Municipalities expressed concern with excess packaging leading to litter.
Retailers want to be able to sell products other than cannabis, like t-shirts, water bottles or snacks, and offer loyalty programs. Some would like to buy cannabis directly from producers.
More clarity around what constitutes a “THC unit” for proper dosing.

Yukon cannabis industry

The five-year review also notes some statistics about the overall result of the industry in the territory in the first five years of legalization.

The legal cannabis market in the most western of the three territories has grown from just over $2 million in 2018/19 to $13 million in 2023/24. More than 80% of Yukoners acquired their cannabis from legal sources within the territory.

Yukon has six cannabis retailers which employ around 40 people. Cannabis distribution is overseen by the Yukon Liquor Corporation (YLC). Wholesale-to-retailer sales went from $3.5 million in 2019-2020 to $9.2 million in 2023-2024.

The territory sold 495,850 units of pre-rolls from 2018-2023 and 448,993 units of dried flower (all SKU sizes). Edibles sold more often than vapes (272,775 vs 136,233).

During the 2023/24 fiscal year, the Yukon Liquor Corporation remitted $369,000 to the Government of Yukon’s general revenues in relation to cannabis. The Yukon government received $952,639 from its share of the federal cannabis excise tax. The report says the Yukon government uses all cannabis-related profits for general government services and programming.

Cannabis laws

There were 73 total violations from cannabis-related charges from 2019-2023, the majority (40) for unauthorized possession/care and control in a vehicle. There was one reported charge for public consumption in this time period.

Public Health

Cannabis-related emergency department visits increased from 40 in 2016 to 104 in 2021 (with a drop in 2020) before declining significantly to 50 in 2023. There were 275 emergency room visits related to cannabis use in the five years before legalization and 471 in the five years after. The paper notes this could be due to an increase in consumption or because people felt more comfortable presenting at an emergency room with a cannabis-related issue after its use became legal.

While the rate of cannabis use among young people remains a concern, the age at which Yukoners say they first tried or started using cannabis has increased with legalization, from 18.9 in 2018 to 20.8 in 2023.

Those who report consuming cannabis actually declined from 2022-2023 for those 16-35 and over 56, while it stayed the same for those 36-55.

With website closure, Yukon completes handover of cannabis retail sales to private sector

October 17, 2022

Yukon introduces new special order program for low-demand cannabis products

October 25, 2022

Yukon sold more than $6 million worth of cannabis last year

October 19, 2021

Week in Weed – October 19, 2024

Written by Staff on October 19, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International, Producers.

In this past week in weed, StratCann looked at the more than a billion dollars worth of cannabis sold in Ontario in the first half of 2024, while an industry group in BC is highlighting just how little cannabis growers get for the weed consumers buy.

A new cannabis lounge in Toronto, connected to Lit Research, is launching a study looking at how weed and music interact. A BC cannabis nursery and university are collaborating on a cannabis barcoding project, and the BC Budtenders Union secured a contract win for a Vancouver cannabis store.

The Cannabis Retailer Summit on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, aims to bring Ontario’s leading retailers together.

In our Insight series, we talked about how Canada’s illicit cannabis market is making a comeback, we interviewed Suzanne Bergeron, President and CEO of the SQDC, and we ran the most recent installation of the Good Weed Board.

In finance news, Avant Brands released their Q3 2024 results, and a US court gave preliminary approval of a US$8 million settlement in an investor lawsuit against Aurora Cannabis.

In other cannabis news, Thursday was the six year anniversary of cannabis legalization in Canada…

Trudeau remembered he legalized weed, which is nice.

As StratCann reported last week, the OCS launched a fake illegal weed shop to draw attention to issues with the reemerging black market in Ontario.

Global News in Manitoba spoke with the owners of retailer WowKPow and others about the cannabis industry on the six year anniversary of legalization.

A team of researchers affiliated with York University in Toronto found Cannabis-related emergency department visits declined among schizophrenia patients following “phase 1” of cannabis legalization in Canada (dried flower/oil). Phase 2 (edibles, extracts, and topicals) was not associated with any significant changes.

New Brunswick’s Crystal Cure has been documenting the process leading up to their recent licence revocation which went through this past week. Check them out on Instagram to follow along with this informative look at the layers of bureaucracy. We spoke with Jonathan Wilson at Crystal Cure recently about the decision to revoke their licence, which can be read here.

Cannabis wholesale trade and inventories dropped to a year-over-year low of $251 million in August 2024, according to Statistics Canada.

Health Canada is hosting the next session of its Virtual Learning Series on October 29, 2024. The session’s topic will be “Demystifying Regulatory Requirements – What to Expect During a Cannabis Inspection.”

The owners of Flora Cannabis in BC are looking to expand their business to a fourth Kelowna location. Flora currently operates three stores in Kelowna, one in West Kelowna, one in Prince George, and another in Vernon.

CBC ran a piece on Indigenous cannabis businesses in Canada, speaking with Chief Robert Gladstone at All Nations in BC and Tonya Perron in Kahnawà:ke, just south of Montreal. StratCann interviewed Perron in 2021 about the community’s efforts to regulate cannabis in their community.

Nova Cannabis shareholders approved a proposed plan of arrangement with SNDL. The Arrangement is expected to close on or around October 18, 2024.

MediPharm Labs Corp. announced that President and Co-Founder Keith Strachan will be stepping down from his management position effective December 31, 2024. He will continue to provide strategic support and guidance to the Company by joining the Board of Directors effective January 1, 2025.

Canopy Growth Corporation announced that it made an early prepayment under its senior secured term loan in an aggregate principal amount equal to US$100 million at a discounted price of US$97.5 million. This prepayment was agreed to between the company and its senior lenders as part of a series of amendments to a term loan.

Aurora Cannabis and their subsidiary MedReleaf Australia announced an enhanced product range of medical cannabis oil in Australia, including Aurora THC 25 (Sativa) in a 30mL bottle, Aurora THC 25 (Indica) in a 30mL bottle, Aurora 12.5:12.5 oil in a 30mL bottle, Aurora 50:50 oil in a 30mL bottle, and Aurora 10:100 oil in a 30mL bottle.

Simply Solventless Concentrates Ltd. announced that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of all the outstanding shares of ANC Inc.

Get Sensible, a project by Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP), launched a 4-part video series of Cannabis Public Service Announcements, parodying PSAs of the past to reach young people with evidence-based strategies to reduce the potential negative outcomes of cannabis use.

The BC Securities Commission (BCSC) alleges illegal distribution and unregistered trading connected to a BC-based cannabis company, RoccaVerde Wellness Corporation (formerly known as World Farms Corp.).

Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. launched a virtual tour of their Coquitlam BC cannabis processing facility. The on-demand, self-guided, 4-part tour was made possible by a grant from the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP).

City View Green Holdings Inc. announced that it intends to raise gross proceeds of up to $1 million through a non-brokered private placement of up to 100,000,000 units of the company at a price of $0.01 per unit.

The Government of Yukon completed its five-year review of the Cannabis Control and Regulation Act. Cannabis wholesale-to-retail sales in the Yukon have risen from $2.03 million in 2018–19 to $9.2 million in 2023–24, but the Territory has concerns with high rates of consumption.

LeDevoir notes that Quebec, along with the Yukon, is the most permissive in Canada when it comes to alcohol consumption, but it is the strictest when it comes to the age of cannabis consumption.

Public Health Quebec released a report on the use of cannabis and other psychoactive substances among young people aged 18 to 24 attending adult education centres.

Irish media outlet The Journal toured Coast Mountain Cannabis (CMC) in Pemberton, British Columbia.

New analyses of maternal cannabis use during early pregnancy find no evidence of increased risk of early developmental delays up to age five or of autism spectrum disorder.

A study published in Nature says cannabis use can leave an impact on your DNA.

A Denman Island cannabis facility and home on 5+ acres in BC is for sale for $2.5 million.

International cannabis news

A new study in the US that looks at incidences of fentanyl co-occurrence with other drugs says that co-occurrence with cannabinoids was below 0.3%. There are regional differences to these national figures, though, with the study noting that recently, there have been more incidences of this in some northeastern and Appalachian states like Kentucky.

US VP and Presidential candidate Kamala Harris once again reiterated her support for cannabis legalization in a podcast interview this past week. Shockingly, USA Today has an excellent, in-depth write-up on the issue with some historical context. Legalization in the US would still require Congressional approval before making its way to the President’s desk, so don’t hold your breath.

The US Supreme Court tackled a case involving a New York state man who was fired from his job as a commercial truck driver for failing a drug test after taking cannabidiol, or CBD, that he said was falsely sold as lacking the psychoactive ingredient present in cannabis. The justices are expected to rule on the case by mid-2025.

California’s emergency ban on certain hemp products cleared a recent legal challenge brought by cannabis businesses that sought to block the new rules. The ruling keeps in place emergency regulations taken into effect in September intended to prevent the use of THC products masquerading as hemp products.

The Freakonomics Radio podcast asks Is America switching from booze to weed?

Finally, beginning October 17, the majority of doctors in Germany will be able to prescribe medical cannabis for reimbursement without securing prior approval from health insurance companies.

BC Budtenders Union secures contract wins for Vancouver cannabis store employees

Written by Staff on October 18, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Retail.

A union representing cannabis retail workers in British Columbia says it has secured key contract wins for workers at a Vancouver cannabis store.

The BC Budtenders Union, which represents workers at several cannabis stores in BC, first served strike notice at a Canna Cabana in Vancouver on October 8 following a vote in favour of a strike by employees in May.

The Union, UFCW 1518, now says they have received concessions from Canna Cabana addressing employee concerns. Those concessions include ensuring a minimum of two members on duty, with an additional staff member available on weekends, allowing workers to receive tips, creating full-time positions, paid breaks, and paid education and bereavement leave, with eligible employees receiving access to group health and medical plans.

“These workers stood together and were united in their fight for a fair contract by delivering a 100% strike vote,” said UFCW 1518 President Patrick Johnson. “United, the committee returned to the bargaining table with a strong mandate and won significant improvements, including new full-time positions, adequate staffing levels, paid breaks, and benefits.”

Canna Cabana is part of a chain of cannabis retailers across Canada that is owned by parent company High Tide, which operates more than 180 stores, including eight in BC. BC doesn’t allow a company to operate more than eight cannabis stores in the province. Four are located in Vancouver, and the other four are spread out across the province, including Fort St John, Prince George, Kamloops, and Cranbrook.

In March of this year, the union announced that employees at the Davie Street Canna Cabana had joined the BC Budtenders Union. At the time, the union said staff were pushing back against low wages, minimal protections, and limited job security.

The BC Budtenders Union has slowly been gathering members since it became the first union to represent budtenders in Canada in 2020. There has been an increase in cannabis store employees joining unions in the past year, especially in BC and Ontario.

As of April 2024, the BC Budtenders Union said it represents workers at nine cannabis businesses and 16 locations.

Budtenders Association launches new travelling cannabis event

September 18, 2022

BC Budtenders’ Union gives strike notice to Vancouver Canna Cabana

October 9, 2024

More than 100 budtenders in Manitoba accept their first collective agreement

June 15, 2023

Cannabis research lounge in Toronto exploring cannabis and music

Written by Staff on October 18, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Ontario, Research.

A new cannabis consumption lounge is now open in downtown Toronto, and it’s looking to explore the relationship between cannabis consumption and music.

Operating alongside cannabis retailer Body and Spirit Cannabis and Lit Research, Club Lit is a new, legally operating cannabis consumption lounge at 361 Yonge Street.

Like its neighbour at Lit Research, the Club Lit lounge operates for research purposes only. An example of that research is a new observational study, in collaboration with Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), to better understand how cannabis influences auditory experiences and musical enjoyment.

The new program is launching with a grant from the Science of Music, Auditory Research, and Technology (SMART) Lab at TMU, located just steps away from Club Lit.

Made possible by an Accelerate Grant from Canadian nonprofit Mitacs, the SMART Lab will utilize the new cannabis consumption space to explore how the level of high may affect how a listener engages with music.

“The research we conduct in this space will break new ground,” says Frank Russo, Director of the SMART Lab. “I am particularly interested in the concept of absorption in music and to see how it might be altered while under the influence. Looking ahead, I can see how this might even open new avenues of research on music-based treatments for mental health.”

Club Lit is located on the same block as TMU’s Student Learning Centre, providing the centre with more immediate access to a real-world laboratory for cannabis research and education.

Al Shefsky, President of Cannadigm, which operates Lit Research, said: “We are excited to collaborate with TMU on this groundbreaking research initiative at Club Lit. Cannadigm is leveraging our team’s extensive cannabis knowledge and expertise to enhance consumer experiences, supporting academic research that has the potential to improve people’s enjoyment and quality of life.”

Shefsky also owns and operates the neighbouring cannabis store Body and Spirit Cannabis and is the founder of Lit Research. Launched in 2022, the latter has been hosting regular sessions that seek to help cannabis producers and brands provide a unique, value-added educational experience to anyone looking to learn more about their products.

The Health Canada-licensed research facility says it has administered and collected data from over 12,000 individual product testing sessions to date. Cannadigm’s new consumption space, Club Lit, is located adjacent to but separate from Lit Research and bills itself as a real-world observational laboratory where participants may consume cannabis while enjoying music and authentic cannabis culture, all in support of academic research and education.

Club Lit is located at 361 Yonge Street, Unit C, in the heart of Downtown Toronto. More info on Club Lit can be found here.

BC seeking feedback on cannabis consumption spaces for cafes, festivals, spas, and more

April 6, 2022

Manitoba explores cannabis consumption lounges

September 18, 2020

Cannabis consumption space provides examples for BC government

September 18, 2023

Ontario sold more than a billion dollars worth of weed in the first half of 2024

Written by Staff on October 17, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Ontario, Retail.

Authorized cannabis stores in Ontario sold more than one billion dollars worth of cannabis in the first half of 2024.

This was 21% more cannabis by volume and 11.8% in dollars sold in the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, according to new figures shared by the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS).

Total cannabis sales at legal, licensed stores in Canada’s most populated province totalled $1,029,614,280, from an array of 4,746 different SKUs. The average wholesale (not retail) price of cannabis sold in this time frame was $3.84 a gram, not including HST. This figure includes both dried flower and pre-rolls.

Ontario had 1,721 authorized retailers as of June 20, 2024, a 3% year-over-year increase. The number of stores increased in every part of Ontario except for Toronto, which lost 11 stores compared to the same period in 2023, a 3% year-over-year loss.

New store authorizations have slowed down considerably. There were 123 new stores “onboarded”* from January 1 to June 30, 2024, a 20% decrease from the first six months of 2023. There were also 80 stores offboarded from January 1 to June 30, 2024, a 13% decline from the number of stores that closed in the first six months of 2023.

*Onboarding is the process an authorized retailer and authorized cannabis store goes through to be able to access the OCS online B2B portal for wholesale orders.

The OCS distribution centre shipped 204,314,110 grams of cannabis (and its equivalent) to authorized stores over this period, an increase of 18.5% year-over-year.

The number of units of cannabis pre-rolls delivered to stores surpassed dried flower in early 2023, with that trend increasing in the first half of 2024. The OCS delivered 34,063 total deliveries in this time period, a 5% year-over-year increase, and delivered more than 50 million units.

Cannabis vapes remain the most common source of product complaints, with 71% of the 14,161 complaints relating to vapes, just 16% relating to dried flower products and 9% related to extracts.

The number of SKUs available through the OCS’s flow through program increased considerably in the first half of 2024, while the number of active SKUs stocked at the OCS distribution warehouse remained relatively consistent.

Total grams of cannabis sold in the first six months of 2024 were 190,527,442, a 21% increase from the 157,495,201 grams sold in the first six months of 2023. And while cannabis sales have appeared to cool off nationally in the past year, the OCS says the total value of legal cannabis sales in the first six months of 2024 was $1,029,614,280, an 11.8% increase compared to the $921,021,041 sold over the same period in 2023.

Dried flower still dominated retail sales, followed by pre-rolls, infused pre-rolls, and vapes. A new report available to OCS vendors says that 58% of consumers are looking for lower-potency cannabis products so they can have more control over their dose.

The average wholesale price per gram of pre-rolls in the first half of 2024 was $4.63, while a 3.5 gram SKU was $5.24 per gram. A 7 gram SKU was $3.56, a 14 gram was $3.66, and a 28 gram was $2.82.

While the OCS sets wholesale prices for cannabis in Ontario, retailers choose their own retail price. According to Headset, a cannabis data tracking company, the average price of cannabis at retail stores as of September 2024 was $9.39 in Ontario. This is slightly higher than BC, but lower than Alberta, says Headset. The average sale price for cannabis in Quebec in the three months ending June 22 was $5.84.

OCS launches more detailed sales metrics for producers

August 23, 2024

A tale of two markets: The future of retail cannabis in Ontario and Quebec

August 27, 2024

Cannabis-related complaints to Ontario’s Ombudsman lowest since legalization

June 28, 2024

How much does a legal weed grower in Canada actually get from that ounce you bought?

Written by Staff on October 16, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Government, Producers, Retail.

Ever wonder just how much of your hard-earned dollars make it back to the grower when you pick up some weed at the store?

A group of BC-based cannabis businesses recently launched a campaign to draw attention to just how little cannabis growers receive for their cannabis amidst a complex supply chain.

While the general public may think the cannabis industry is awash in cash, the reality is much more dire, especially for small, craft growers who are not propped up by investor dollars.

The BC Cannabis Alliance—comprising around two dozen cannabis cultivators and processors in BC—says they are seeking to draw attention to how issues like provincial and federal taxes and fees impact growers, especially BC’s small craft cannabis growers.

As part of the campaign, the Alliance is sharing information with retailers and consumers on where the money consumers pay for cannabis actually ends up. Using a series of infographics that feature popular dried flower SKUs in the BC market, the organization breaks down how various levels of government receive a little over half of every dollar spent. In contrast, cannabis producers receive less than 20%.

Using one example produced by the Alliance, a popular 28-gram package of cannabis sold in BC for about $82:

nearly $9 goes to sales tax
another $28 goes to the excise tax (75% of which goes to BC)
The BC LDB receives another six dollars as the distributor

This leaves about $15 for the producer out of the $82 the consumer spends, with that $15 often further divided between processor and grower.

Various cards highlighting different popular flower SKUs in BC will be shared with retailers in the coming weeks.

In addition, the Alliance is highlighting an additional fee charged by the BC government to use their Direct Delivery program, which allows some small BC growers to ship directly to retailers. This program was touted as a way to help small, craft growers and producers in BC, but the BC LDB has kept the 15% “proprietary fee” they charge to warehouse and distribute cannabis attached to these direct sales. This is despite the provincial cannabis distributor not actually handling or processing these direct sales in any way.

“The addition of this 15% markup to be paid to the government, despite them not ever handling the product at any point in the supply chain, is an example of the government saying one thing ‘to support small farms’ and doing the opposite,” says Alannah Davis, CEO of Dabble Farms, who is a part of the Alliance.

The organization has also created a petition to draw attention to this BC-specific issue, which calls for the BC LDB to drop its “Proprietary Fee” for Direct Delivery from 15% to 3.5% to help improve economic viability for all BC’s craft producers.

“BC is now home to some of Canada’s favourite cannabis brands, but excessive taxation means our best growers, processors, and retailers are struggling to get by,” says the organization’s website. “Between taxes, fees, and mark-ups, the government often takes the most while contributing the least. For BC’s most popular products, that take can be more than half.

“We’re here to rally support for simple changes while helping policymakers create a more sustainable cannabis industry.”

More information can be found at BCCannabisAlliance.c om.

Alberta and BC reach agreement over wine sales. Cool, now do cannabis

July 18, 2024

BC’s cannabis Direct Delivery program is growing, but fees still too high

May 29, 2023

The rocky road to excise duty reform

February 28, 2024

Week in Weed – October 12, 2024

Written by David Brown on October 12, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

There’s been quite a bit of cannabis news this week. Here at StratCann, we spoke with cannabis producers about their frustration with excise stamps amid the call for a single, unified federal stamp. We also spoke with the CEO of an Edmonton cannabis beverages company, who says testing he’s done shows most beverages are inaccurately labelled in Canada. At the same time, freelancer Jon Hiltz looked into the complex issue of why it’s so hard to shut down illicit online cannabis stores.

A new study looks at the impacts of cannabis legalization on organized crime in Canada, and the BC Budtenders’ Union gave a strike notice to a Vancouver Canna Cabana.

The OCS has a cheeky new campaign that includes a faux illegal pop-up cannabis shop in Toronto. Quebec’s Santé Cannabis launched a 3-year real-world evidence study and, as subscribers of our Monday newsletter will know, Bedrocan is returning to Canada after receiving a cultivation licence on September 27.

In financial cannabis news, Freedom Cannabis seeks more time to resolve a lease dispute, a Court approved an RVO for Atlas Global Brands against CRA’s “emphatic” objections, and Tilray’s newest quarterly reports show the company’s adult-use cannabis and international revenue down year-over-year.

In law enforcement news, 500 kg of cannabis from Canada was seized in Hong Kong, the OPP seized thousands of cannabis plants from a Ramara property operating outside the scope of a personal or designated production licence, and three men were jailed in the UK for trying to import cannabis from Canada.

In other cannabis news…

iPolitics’ QP Briefing ran an opinion piece looking at some of the known challenges with accurate THC testing in Ontario’s cannabis industry from David Albert, a principal with Wellington Dupont, a public affairs and government relations firm.

Brantford Micro Grow in Ontario says the province’s energy rebate program left them high and dry after he was unable to receive compensation for new LEDs.

Outdoor micro cultivator Wildwood Flowr is now New Brunswick’s seventh cannabis farmgate store.

High Tide opened two new Canna Cabanas in Toronto, bringing the total number of Canna Cabana branded retail cannabis locations to 185 in Canada. There are now 71 stores in the province of Ontario, including eleven in Toronto.

Tilray announced the launch of the new Charlotte’s Web gummies in Canada. They come in a 30-pack bottle with two flavours. Each gummy contains 25mg of CBD, ensuring a consistent and enjoyable experience.

Rubicon Organics Inc. announced the publication of its fourth annual Environmental, Social and Governance Report (“ESG Report”) for the year ended December 31, 2023. The organic cannabis grower says they cut their carbon footprint by 48%, increased landfill waste diversion through recycling, repurposing waste as biofuel and a focus on composting, and reduced voluntary turnover by 14% year-over-year.

A woman trying to express her concerns about abortion in front of a cannabis store in Beamsville, Ontario, was joined by several people holding up signs for cannabis.

BC Cannabis retail association ABLE BC announced they had reached 100 cannabis retail members after holding their first in-person meeting in Vancouver and welcoming new members to their recently formed Cannabis Advisory group.

Canopy Growth Corporation confirmed it has completed Canopy USA’s acquisition of Wana, including Wana Wellness, LLC, The CIMA Group, LLC, and Mountain High Products, LLC. Canopy USA now owns 100% of the outstanding equity interests in Wana.

HYTN Innovations Inc. announced that it received an additional Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification for its Kelowna manufacturing facility. This certification now includes distribution as a licenced activity under HYTN’s Drug Establishment Licence (DEL) issued by Health Canada. HYTN is a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the formulation, manufacturing, marketing, and sale of products containing psychoactive and psychotropic compounds, including cannabis-derived cannabinoids and psilocybe-derived tryptamines.

A post on Psychology Today debunks the “lazy stoner” stereotype.

An appeal commission finds that a worker in Alberta is entitled to coverage for an additional 0.5 grams of cannabis a day beyond his 3-gram-a-day coverage.

The Dales Report visited Pure Sunfarms in BC and shared a video of the experience.

Cronos Group Inc. says its Spinach brand has risen to the best-selling cannabis brand in the Canadian market in August, according to HiFyre Retail Analytics’ National Retail Dollar Sales by Brand in Canada. HiFyre’s parent organization is Fire & Flower.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawá:ke has extended the application deadline to the Kahnawá:ke Cannabis Control Board (KCCB) to October 18. Earlier this year, the board announced the enactment of two regulations for the Kahnawá:ke Cannabis Control Law, one concerning alternate board members and one concerning registered suppliers under the Kahnawá:ke regulations.

A Quebec court granted an injunction to stop illegal dumping from off-reserve in Kanesatake, a Mohawk settlement on the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains in southwestern Quebec. The claims include names of two cannabis dispensaries that have been built along the filled-in shoreline, High Times Oka and Golden Star Oka. Timelapse on Google Earth shows the development of these sites in the last few years. Google Maps shows at least 13 cannabis stores within a 3 km stretch in the community.

The Kahnawake Peacekeepers are warning parents to be vigilant after minors in the community were caught using Snapchat to buy cannabis products. A 22-year-old man from Kahnawake was arrested last month following the incident.

A Cannabis NB employee will stand trial late next year on allegations she robbed the store where she worked after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars worth of cash and product a month earlier. Ten days are scheduled for the trial, beginning November 17, 2025.

A new study found a “significant correlation” between THC dose and short-term pain relief for lower back pain, suggesting that higher THC doses were associated with greater pain reduction.

North Bay (ON) Toronto, and Vancouver were the top three cities in Canada with the most late-night cannabis orders through Uber. Uber’s cannabis listing service for delivery is currently only available in BC, Ontario, and Alberta.

Wastewater tested in Halifax in 2023 contained almost twice the amount of cannabis metabolites compared with samples taken from other big cities in Canada, like Toronto or Montreal.

A college video project posted on YouTube from 1980 talks with young people of Halifax on perspectives toward cannabis use and legalization in Nova Scotia.

A man found guilty of conspiracy to export several hundred pounds of cannabis from Canada and conspiracy to import cocaine after he was caught up in a 2021 OPP operation called Project Southam has received a nine-year sentence.

A judge gave him sentences of four years and nine years in relation to two charges connected to conspiracy to traffic cocaine and two years less a day for the charges related to exporting cannabis from Canada. The time is to be served concurrently.

International cannabis news…

Politico ran an in-depth piece on California’s complicated struggles in dealing with the deeply embedded and under-enforced illicit market. Many of the issues are quite similar to Canada.

A 56-year-old woman who was caught with a quarter of a million euros worth of cannabis (no weight reported) at Dublin Airport following her arrival from Toronto, Canada, on March 27 this year has been jailed for two and a half years. She said she answered a job posting online and was promised $10,000.

Hong Kong customs officers arrested three suspects and confiscated 500 kg of cannabis in a sea shipment of soybeans from Canada, bringing the total amount of the plant seized this year to 2.6 tonnes.

Some 48% of employers in the US don’t test for cannabis in the pre-hire process and many say this is to ensure they meet their acquisition and retention goals. And 44% of organizations that do test for weed report facing challenges recruiting qualified candidates.

The New York Times reports that cannabis and opium poppy production became national security issues in the US after supply chain disruptions that made critical medicines scarce.

Medicinal cannabis doctors in Australia are being investigated by authorities after suicide and hospitalization of patients. The pharmacist who founded a medicinal cannabis company has been banned from supplying cannabis, and two doctors have been suspended after two men with mental health conditions were prescribed medical cannabis by the business. One was hospitalized with psychosis; the other took his own life.

A New York court upheld Cayuga Nation Council’s move to shut down an unlicensed cannabis store against objections from the owner who rejected council authority.

The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) issued a health and safety recall for specific pre-ground adult-use cannabis flower, pre-rolls, and blunts due to bacteria and mould concerns.

Bedrocan is returning to Canada

Written by David Brown on October 10, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News.

Bedrocan International recently received a licence to again produce cannabis in Canada.

The Netherlands-based producer of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis for medical purposes received their licence to cultivate from Health Canada on September 27.

In a press release, the company says it recently purchased its old Bedrocan facility in Scarborough, Ontario.

The company says this fulfils its “long-held promise of returning to Canada” to grow standardized medicinal cannabis for Canadian patients. Now licensed for cultivation, the company plans to begin production of cannabis in early 2025.

Bedrocan’s CEO Jaap Erkelens on Bedrocan’s attention to patients: “We have had a strictly pharmaceutical approach since our foundation in 2003. We use the knowledge we have acquired in more than twenty years of business to produce cannabis products that benefit patients exclusively. In the same vein as prescribing physicians, patients want a reliable, standardised product with the same therapeutic effect time after time.”

Bedrocan’s approach to cannabis has long been to produce a limited number of cultivars with consistent THC and/or CBD levels, something the company plans to bring with them in their return to Canada.

Bedrocan says they plan to bring several of these standardized cannabis products to the Canadian market, especially their flagship brand Bedrocan®.

The company plans to eventually distribute its products through a third party’s medical sales channel to registered patients in Canada.

Bedrocan was one of the first licenced cannabis producers in Canada, but eventually ceased its activities after selling all its shares to Canopy Growth in 2016.

“We are thrilled to be coming back to Canada,” said Erkelens. “We look forward to serving patients in Canada and positively impacting the Canadian healthcare landscape.”

A previous legal settlement between Bedrocan and Canopy Growth prevented the former from doing business in Canada until Jan. 1, 2020. The company says they have always had plans to return to the Canadian market following the lifting of that agreement early in 2019.

In a post earlier this year, the company said medical cannabis patients in Canada have continued to face challenges with access. The company also recently announced a new high-CBD variety, Bedrolina, produced primarily at its new facility in Denmark.

Active medical registrations with LPs continue to decline, while personal and designated increase

April 6, 2022

Advocates concerned with lack of separate medical cannabis review

February 13, 2023

How long until Canadians can access medical cannabis in pharmacies?

June 10, 2024

Streamlining excise stamps could go a long way to relieving regulatory burden, costs

Written by David Brown on October 10, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Producers.

Changing the federal excise rate has been at the top of the industry wish list since legalization began, but making logistical changes to how the program is managed can also make a big difference.

That’s one of the messages from a recent meeting held by the Cannabis Council of Canada (C3) on October 1 in Ottawa that brought together industry leaders and government officials for a half-day of panel discussions.

One of the subjects highlighted by the recent meeting was changing how the excise stamps used by producers are implemented, and can save the industry millions of dollars a year in staffing and logistics alone.

Call for a single federal excise stamp

Moving to a single, federal excise stamp rather than 13 provincial and territorial stamps is a great example of one of these changes, says Orville Bovenschen, President of Pure Sunfarms. Pure Sunfarms is a member of C3 and a subsidiary of Village Farms International.

Based on the extra costs involved with managing all these different stamps and ensuring they are being sent to the correct jurisdictions, he says it could save his company around one million dollars a year. This compares to $78.3 million the company incurred in excise tax for the year ended December 31, 2023.

“It’s not just us,” says Bovenschen. “If you look at small producers, medium-sized producers, it’s very complicated for them as well. A change like this can make it easier for us to operate and become more profitable. I think this is much easier to achieve before we get to the bigger issue of the excise tax itself.”

He notes he’s encouraged by events like the recent C3 meeting in Ottawa, and seeing representatives from Health Canada and CRA in the room, listening and engaging. While he knows the industry is very frustrated by a lack of movement on big ticket issues like the federal excise rate, he sees collaboration as the only real viable path forward.

Changing the excise rate is complicated, he admits, which is why solutions like these could make more sense in the more immediate term.

Challenges for smaller cannabis businesses

Highlighting some of these logistical issues, another cannabis producer in BC, Dylan King, CEO of Pistol and Paris, who processes and sells cannabis from an array of micro and craft producers, says the deposits the CRA requires them to pay upfront are often very difficult for his company to meet.

While King says he’s accepted the excise rate as something that won’t change anytime soon, being forced to pay upfront before they even receive payment for the cannabis they sell into provincial markets pushes his small business to the limit. The company currently pays around $200,000 a month in excise.

“As I pay more and more excise every month as my company grows, the CRA wants to keep upping our security deposit with them,” says King. “I started with a $5,000 deposit. Because my company grew so fast they now want over $200,000 deposit. Again, where am I supposed to just come up with an extra $200,000 that I dont have sitting around for a deposit?”

Another issue, says King, is he was recently hit with a tax bill for 130 kilograms of cannabis stolen from his facility in a rare break-in in 2023.

“A year later the CRA gave me an excise tax bill for $130,000,” explains King. “I thought there was some sort of mistake, but there wasn’t. They told me that due to the loss of the 130 kilograms, because in their eyes it was destined for the Canadian market, they didn’t get their excise.

“I was in shock. I don’t have an extra $130,000 to pay them as I’m already out $200,000 from the loss. The flower that was stolen was bulk and not excised so it just makes no sense.”

King says he will be fighting this bill.

Tremendous amount of waste

In an equally frustrating issue on the other side of the country in New Brunswick, Jonathan Wilson at Crystal Cure—a micro producer who recently revoked their licence—posted a video online explaining how they had to deal with all the stamps they had on hand as they went through the process of closing their facility.

This included counting tens of thousands of individual stamps and then burning them rather than being able to sell or otherwise transfer them to another producer.

“Tell me again that there’s not a tremendous amount of waste,” he asks.

“The excise stamps are absolutely ridiculous, for many reasons,” says Wilson in the video. We know that we can already know where the product is going without the use of a stamp. We report it, and they report it back. It’s there. We see it in beverages/alcohol, and it works fine. We’ve just been hit with a much more convoluted system as punishment, it seems.”

Jen Meyers, CEO & Founder of micro processor Zelca Ltd., and a member of C3, says events like the recent C3 summit in Ottawa help rally the industry around these specific issues.

“The summit successfully brought together key stakeholders from industry and government, fostering productive dialogue toward a sustainable future,” Meyers told StratCann in an email. “It reflected both the maturation of our industry and C3’s evolution under new leadership, uniting a strong and diverse membership.

“Excise reform remains crucial. A simple solution, such as changing ‘10% or $1 per gram, whichever is greater’ to ‘10% or $1 per gram, whichever is lesser,’ could provide much-needed relief without reinventing the wheel.

“Additionally, the discussion around adopting a universal stamp would significantly ease the regulatory burden, especially for small producers selling across provinces.”

The rocky road to excise duty reform

February 28, 2024

Canadian Cannabis Leadership Summit 2024 in Ottawa

September 20, 2024

C3 announces new president, a former Canopy exec with extensive public service experience

April 2, 2024

BC Budtenders’ Union gives strike notice to Vancouver Canna Cabana

Written by David Brown on October 9, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Retail.

The BC Budtenders’ Union says they have served a strike notice at a Canna Cabana store in Vancouver.

In a post shared on UFCW 1518’s social media accounts on Tuesday, October 8, and confirmed to StratCann in an email, the union said the store’s workers were prepared to strike to address what they say is a shortage of hours at the Davie Street Canna Cabana in downtown Vancouver, leading to understaffing. UFCW is the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

“Members at this store have made it clear they are prepared to strike to seek a fair contract that addresses a shortage of scheduled hours,” wrote the union in a post. “It’s not in the interests of staff or customers for a dispensary to be understaffed.”⁠

Canna Cabana is part of a chain of cannabis retailers across Canada and is owned by parent company High Tide, which operates 184 stores as of October 7, including eight in BC. BC doesn’t allow a company to operate more than eight cannabis stores in the province. Four are located in Vancouver, the other four are spread out across the province in Fort St John, Prince George, Kamloops, and Cranbrook.

A representative for High Tide told StratCann that the company did not wish to weigh in at this time.

“Out of respect for the collective bargaining process, we will not be commenting at this time.”

A post on the union’s Facebook page at the time said the two-year contract for those employees includes a 6.5% wage increase, retroactive pay on all wage increases to November 11, 2023, doubling the call-in premium to $1.00 per hour, and “timely and fair redistribution of cannabis samples from sales reps.”

BC began allowing producers to provide samples to retailers in 2023.

As of April 2024, the BC Budtenders Union said it represents workers at nine cannabis businesses and 16 locations.

Fifteen of these locations are cannabis stores. It also represents workers at a cannabis production facility in BC, the first cannabis production facility to successfully unionize in Canada, following a 2020 court ruling that found the company had unfairly penalized workers for trying to unionize.

Not all employees have stuck with their decision to join a union, though. Employees at Eggs Canna on East Hastings in downtown Vancouver voted to join the union in early 2022 but changed course shortly after, voting to decertify union membership, meaning it no longer acts as their bargaining agent.

A media representative with UFCW 1518 told StratCann they currently have around 150 members in 12 cannabis stores and one commercial grower. In April 2024, the union told StratCann that UFCW represented workers at nine cannabis businesses in BC (including one grower) and 17 locations.

In December 2023, Trees Cannabis, which has several unionized stores, announced that it and its subsidiaries filed for and were granted creditor protection under the CCAA. Two of four unionized Trees locations in BC have since closed (Alpha St and Fort St).

Employees at a Kiaro Cannabis in Port Moody, BC recently joined the union.

UFCW 1518 is British Columbia’s largest private sector union, with more than 27,000 workers in the retail, industrial, cannabis, healthcare, professional, and agricultural sectors.

In September, about 40 workers at five The Joint cannabis dispensaries in the city of Saskatoon joined UFCW Local 1400. This marked the first time cannabis workers have organized with this union in Saskatoon.

Featured image via Google Maps

BC court rules cannabis producer violated labour code by firing employees seeking to unionize

October 20, 2020

Cannabis industry union adds new stores, loses one

March 6, 2024

SQDC and trade union say they have reached an agreement, pending review from union members

June 24, 2022

Study looks at impacts of cannabis legalization on organized crime in Canada

Written by David Brown on October 8, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Research.

A recent study highlights how the illicit cannabis markets in Canada, especially in British Columbia and Ontario, have changed since cannabis was legalized in 2018.

The report says the effort to legalize happened too quickly to address some of the more uniquely Canadian issues like diversion from the personal/designated production licences for medical cannabis or finding a balance with Indigenous communities and provincial governments’ jurisdictional challenges.

The impacts of cannabis legalization on organized crime in Ontario and British Columbia, published in the Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, interviews 23 experts from law enforcement, law, media, public service, and the private sector, offering numerous insightful (but anonymous) commentaries on the topic.

While quotes in the study are from a range of sources, many of them are from law enforcement officials.

Abuse of personal/designated licenses

The first part of the report highlights what interviewees said is an increase in longtime abuse of Canada’s personal and designated production licences for cannabis for medical purposes. While such licences ensure Canadians who are authorized to use cannabis for such purposes have a way of accessing it outside of the commercial licensed producer program, diversion from these licences for profit is also well-known and documented.

Although these licences have been around for some two decades, several of those interviewed, notes the report, claim that abuse of these licences has increased since cannabis was legalized in late 2018. This increase is in terms of the number of illicit production sites that have licences and the size of those production sites.

“Governments have been, I think, cautious about even talking about removing the personal/designated registrations,” an unnamed federal government official in Ontario is quoted as saying. “Because of the history of litigation, there is worry that by removing it, we might trigger more court activity and more adverse decisions. The threshold for winning that argument is really, really high. It’s not going to be about organized crime and its impacts. It’s going to be about your mom who has been using a designated licence to let your dad grow 12 plants for your mom who needs it for end of life care. And then we’re going to have to prove in court that the scenario where your mom is growing 12 plants with your dad’s help is so dangerous that we have to pull this away from everybody.”

Production in Indigenous communities

Another facet of the cannabis market covered by the study is cannabis production in Indigenous communities in Canada, with researchers speaking to Indigenous licence holders operating within and outside of the federal and provincial regulations.

Researchers say, based on interviews with those subjects, that the latter contains both small-scale “grey zone” operators as well as the presence of organized crime often operating without the approval of the communities they do business in. These types of stores and businesses are more often associated with increases in violent crimes in these communities, such as armed robberies.

“Illicit cannabis was not on the radar before legalization,” says one Indigenous community member in Ontario. “There were some grow operations in houses, but nothing substantial. Now there are both illegal and legal store-fronts for selling/distribution.”

“Illicit stores on indigenous lands have steadily increased since legalization,” said a law enforcement officer in BC. “Once the ones outside of Indigenous lands were closed down, we saw them pop up there. Organized crime is associated with some of those stores, and the Indigenous governments have said they are. When Indigenous communities don’t want the stores they reach out to Canadian law enforcement to get rid of them.”

Increase in exports to the US

A third piece of the illicit cannabis market in Canada covered by the study is exports, which the paper says are primarily to the United States. These exports have only increased since legalization, partly due to increased domestic competition from the legal market.

In addition, this increased competition in the cannabis space has led some of these organized crime groups that were previously involved with cannabis production and distribution to move to psilocybin mushrooms, while others have opiates.

“Prior to legalization,” says a law enforcement officer in Ontario, “you would see examples of large-scale trafficking and distribution within Canada. We don’t see that anymore. Instead, most examples of sophisticated trafficking are destined for the United States.”

Moving forward

“One of the negative impacts [of legalization] is that police have not been as invested as they used to in cannabis investigations and/or prosecutions,” said a law enforcement Officer in BC.

The study offers no specific solutions to these challenges but highlights the need for further investigation of these different trends in the market to better understand the unique nature of Canada’s evolving cannabis landscape.

Edmonton cannabis beverages company calls for more accurate testing

Written by David Brown on October 7, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Products.

An Alberta-based cannabis beverage company is calling on Health Canada to do more to address what they say are flaws in potency testing for cannabis products, especially beverages, which are leading to inaccurate THC levels.

Citing internal testing confirmed by third parties that revealed a significant variance between labelled THC levels and actual THC levels in a number of cannabis beverages in Canada, Callum Hanton, CEO of Bubble Bud Inc., the company behind Zéle Beverages, says these products put consumers and the integrity of the legal market at risk.

“The lack of accurate, standardized testing protocols for cannabis beverages is allowing products with THC levels an average of 41% above legal limits to flood the market,” said Hanton, in a press release.

“Some beverages were tested to be overdosed by over 71%. Not only does this compromise product consistency and market integrity, it also exposes consumers to serious health risks from unknowing overconsumption.”

According to a study published by Agilent Technologies, part of the challenge with creating accurate and reproducible testing of cannabinoid concentrations in cannabis beverages is because of the use of nano-emulsions to dissolve cannabinoids.

This could potentially lead to inaccurate internal testing results for these types of beverages in their formulation stage, which could lead to more cannabinoids being added to the products. It’s noteworthy that some of the cannabis products tested by Hanton’s team were around a year old.

Callum says he wants to see Health Canada do more to validate methodologies used by different cannabis testing labs to ensure that the products consumers buy are what they think they are buying. While many beverages had much higher levels of THC than advertised, some were also well below advertised amounts.

“Right now, if you go buy a THC beverage in Canada, there is a 95% chance it’s 23-36% overdosed and a 99% chance that you pick up a can and it’s dosing is wrong, with the overall average being Canadians consume 41% more THC than advertised in their cannabis beverages” he told StratCann

Hanton says he has provided Health Canada with access to his testing of cannabis beverages in Canada that showed two different data sets, indicating a significant variation in the percentage difference between measured milligrams of THC and advertised milligrams of THC. The variations range from 71% over-label claims to 47% under-label claims. He says he also provided them with the same validation letters he provided to StratCann for the purpose of verifying his claims.

“To explain this another way,” reads one of the documents provided to StratCann for verification,
“if one sampled a randomly selected drink from the above brands and flavours, 95% of the time there would be between 23% and 36% more THC than advertised.”

Part of the challenge, says Hanton, is that testing methodology for cannabis beverages presents challenges in terms of accuracy due to how these drinks are formulated. However, one of the two people who validated the testing says in their report that in the instances where THC levels were higher than the label amount, the producing company would likely have to be aware of these discrepancies.

Hanton tells StratCann he’s frustrated by what he sees as a lack of action from Health Canada.

“They were provided with both initial tests, raw data, the full report and validation letters in January 2024. We had numerous follow-up conversations with them and they chose to sit on it.

“Inaction is not going to increase the integrity of our industry. This is undermining the stability and growth of our industry. We have to be able to trust that Health Canada does their job and that there is transparent and independent oversight of testing laboratories.

“I want to see bad actors identified and I want to see those products that carry a risk for Canadians to be removed. We want the implementation of robust consistent testing methodologies across the industry. We want Health Canada to do the job they said they would do in 2018.”

A representative for Health Canada says the agency has been made aware of the testing and testing reports available from Bubble Bud Inc., but did not provide comment on any specific actions taken based on these reports.

“We can confirm that all issues and complaints brought to our attention—including any concerns related to licence holder activities as they pertain to the Cannabis Regulations—are taken seriously. Generally, when non-compliances are observed, action is taken, which often includes engaging with licence holders to rectify the situation,” said the reply, in part.

“The department continues to verify and conduct testing of cannabis products produced by the licensed industry. Health Canada’s Cannabis Laboratory (CL) analyzes legal cannabis products and provides scientific support to compliance and enforcement activities for the cannabis inspection program. The CL also provides analytical services for illicit cannabis seized by Canadian law enforcement agencies. The CL is accredited to the international standard ISO/IEC 17025 and uses high-quality scientific standards and procedures for cannabis analysis.”

138 cannabis samples tested by Health Canada in 2020, but no labs inspected

March 17, 2021

A better way of measuring THC in cannabis

May 28, 2024

THC Testing—What it says vs What it is

March 20, 2023

Week in Weed – October 5, 2024

Written by Staff on October 5, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This week at StratCann, contributor Dave Dormer spoke with an Edmonton city councillor who says provinces need to amend rules to allow cannabis industry growth, and we shared marketing and promotion compliance efforts from Health Canada (including a correction of a few of our own figures).

We also looked at a new report that calls for more of a public health focus to US cannabis laws, while Aurora and UBC partnered on research to breed fruity-smelling cannabis, Mother Labs has a plan to bring its cannabis to the German market, and Sea Dog Farm spoke about why they revoked their micro cultivation licence.

New survey info from Statistics Canada shows people using less cannabis than the year prior. In Quebec, 16 people were arrested in connection to production sites operated by individuals police say are linked to organized crime. In Edmonton, police want help identifying a man in a fake beard robbing cannabis stores.

And, of course, a new month means a new cannabis jobs update, listing just a handful of the many positions available in the Canadian cannabis industry.

In other cannabis news…

Cannabis Now ran a long piece on Newfoundland’s Oceanic Releaf with the company CEO, Taylor Giovannini. The CEO also made news in 2023 when she called out Trudeau on the federal government’s abandonment of the cannabis industry.

Kelowna’s Hi Cannabis was broken into early Sunday morning, causing thousands of dollars in damage.

This comes less than a week after another store, The Vault Cannabis Ltd., burned down. Once the fire was extinguished, a burned-out vehicle was located inside.

A man accused of robbing Cannabis NB with a BB gun and stealing thousands from the same store now has a warrant out for his arrest after missing court on Friday, October 4.

Halton police in Ontario are looking for one suspect following the armed robbery of a cannabis shop, Buds House, in Burlington on Tuesday, October 1.

Switching to a flat-rate tax or a standardized excise stamp would help the industry ‘overnight,’ the Cannabis Council of Canada’s Paul McCarthy tells the Hill Times (paywall). The article also quotes Frank Grossi, CEO and president of cannabis producer Bloom House Cannabis, and Crystal Cure Cannabis CEO Jonathan Wilson.

A group of cannabis producers in BC is calling on the provincial government to lower the 15% fee for direct delivery.

In late September, workers at Kiaro Cannabis in Port Coquitlam joined UFCW 1518, becoming the latest members of the BC Budtender Union.

Edmonton’s Bubble Bud Inc. issued a press release urging Health Canada to act on what it says are deficiencies in cannabis beverage testing. More on this from StratCann next week.

Molecule Holdings Inc., a Canadian cannabis beverage production company, announced that it entered into a contract manufacturing agreement with unnamed “globally-recognized leading cannabis company.”

Greenway Greenhouse Cannabis Corporation announced that it has now sold more than 30,000 KG of product.

A pair of Nova Scotia Legal Aid lawyers appeared in Dartmouth provincial court Tuesday on behalf of two Montreal women arrested in a cannabis seizure at the Halifax airport this summer, reports Saltwire.

Canada saw substantial decreases in medical cannabis patient registrations, but the remaining patients stabilized their purchasing frequencies and increased their purchase sizes, according to a new research paper.

International cannabis news…

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Port of Buffalo between New York state and Ontario discovered ecstasy pills, ecstasy gummies, and more than four pounds of cannabis in two commercial shipments at the Peace Bridge border crossing.

A woman arriving on a flight from Canada was arrested in Lagos airport in Nigeria on Thursday, October 3rd with 35 kg of cannabis. She told local officials that she was recruited online to deliver the cannabis for $10,000. Nigerian officials often refer to cannabis from Canada as “Canadian loud” and refer to it as being “synthetic” although this seems unlikely given all available images.

The New York Times ran an in-depth piece on the potential harms associated with cannabis use.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that gives licensed cannabis lounges the right to sell food and offer ticketed events, creating Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes where people can smoke weed and eat food at the same business.

California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce (UCETF) seized more than $2.3 million in illegally cultivated cannabis, including 2,652 plants in a single operation. In addition to the illegally cultivated cannabis, UCETF seized multiple bags of an illegal pesticide.

This November, an Oregon ballot measure will ask voters whether to make it easier for cannabis workers to unionize.

Vermont’s cannabis regulatory panel has paused all new retail license applications. Board members said the decision is because of concerns that the market is oversaturated in some areas.

Finally, although cannabis possession and consumption was recently legalized in Germany, some cities are placing restrictions on where and when it can be consumed. In Kaiserslautern in southwest Germany, consumption is now prohibited on school days from 7 am to 6 pm in the vicinity of city hall and other areas. The ban will stay in effect until at least October 31, 2025, and offenders could face fines of up to EU€30,000, according to the city. A similar ban is planned for the Messeplatz area of Germany during the October festival later this month.

Lessons learned on choosing a processor, from one outdoor micro grower

Written by David Brown on October 4, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Producers.

An outdoor micro cultivator on Vancouver Island who recently gave up their federal cultivation license says their biggest challenge wasn’t taxes or regulations, but the struggle to find a reliable processing partner to get their product to market.

Highlighting one of their most recent challenges, Katy Connelly of Sea Dog Farm, says they recently had to take a processor to court over non-payment, resulting in a default order in BC Small Claims Court in June 2024. In July, the court issued an Order for Seizure and Sale, granting permission for a bailiff to seize and sell Black Fin Extracts Ltd.’s assets in order to pay their debts.

Black Fin is a micro processor also located on Vancouver Island. The company’s representatives did not respond to a request for comment for this article. The company’s website is no longer available but was active and archived as recently as July.

Connelly says after agreeing to buy their cannabis harvested at the end of the 2023 season and sending it to them to be processed and packaged for retail sales, she and her partner never heard back from Black Fin. After several months of trying to contact them, Sea Dog was forced to sue Black Fin for their payment for or return of their cannabis.

This was not Connelly’s first challenge with producers, though. She explains that previous deals with four different processors in 2020, 2021, and 2022 also did not work out as promised, saying they either never received their product or payment, or they received much less than anticipated or promised.

Sea Dog Farm first received its outdoor micro cultivation licence in late 2019 for just $15,000, markedly lower than the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars some spend on a facility to get licensed. Sea Dog is a small, 5-acre, family-run farm selling fruits, veggies, honey, flowers and alpaca fibre, often through their farmgate stand in Saanichton.

Now that she has revoked her federal cannabis cultivation licence, she says she’s looking forward to turning all her focus to the rest of the farm, which does not come with such challenges.

“Every year, I make a multitude of verbal agreements with florists, local farmers markets and distributors to sell my organic farm-grown products (non-cannabis),” Connelly tells StratCann. “I then give out thousands of dollars in invoices every month. Without fail, every single invoice was paid in the manner agreed upon and on time.

“My experience with five different processors in the cannabis space has been the exact opposite. Not one processor has paid the agreed upon price, processed on time or paid in full.”

“In my experience, the challenge, for small-scale growers in the legal cannabis industry do not stem from taxes or government oversight. Challenges for micros can be directly linked to unprofessional conduct by processors.”

For other growers in similar shoes, Connelly says payment up-front is much smarter than profit sharing, even if it can mean (in theory) more money to do profit sharing.

“Toll processing, with the costs upfront, would have been a better approach than profit sharing with a processor who can add costs and hold on to profits. Sending flower to a processor (or multiple processors) in smaller batches with firm, non-negotiable deadlines would have reduced the risk to the grower.”

Sea Dog Farm’s micro cultivation licence was officially revoked on Friday, September 13, 2024.

Are Canadians consuming less weed?

Written by David Brown on October 3, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Research, Retail.

The population of those over 18 in Canada who reported using cannabis in the past 12 months and those who reported that they had used cannabis daily or almost daily in the past 12 months declined in 2023 after four years of annual growth.

The new figures come from surveys of Canadians provided by Statistics Canada, called the Canadian Community Health Survey. In addition to asking about cannabis consumption, the survey includes questions about alcohol, tobacco and e-cigarette use, as well as diet and other quality-of-life-related questions.

In 2019, the first year such data was provided, 6.1 million people in Canada over the age of 18 reported using cannabis in the last 12 months. This number increased to 6.5 million, 6.6 million, and 7.1 million in the subsequent years, before dropping to 6.4 million in 2023.

Those who reported using cannabis daily or almost daily in the past year showed a similar pattern. In 2019, 1.6 million reported using cannabis daily or nearly daily. This increased to 1.68 million, 1.69 million, and 1.9 million in the following years, before dropping to 1.7 million in 2023.

Cannabis sales in Canada also appear to reflect these self-reported figures, with sales beginning to cool after five years of year-over-year growth.

Other vice products showed declines in 2023 as well. Those who reported smoking tobacco products on a daily basis were down compared to 2020, as were those who reported heavy drinking. Heavy drinking refers to males who reported having five or more drinks, or women who reported having four or more drinks, on one occasion, at least once a month in the past year. Half of Canadian adults reported not drinking any alcohol in the past seven days in 2023.

Those who said they used e-cigarettes or vaping devices in the past 30 days, though, increased in 2023 compared to 2022 (the first year this data was collected).

Mother Labs to bring branded cannabis to German market

Written by David Brown on October 2, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, International, Producers.

A German pharmaceutical company says it will be partnering with Canadian cannabis nursery Mother Labs to bring a line of branded cannabis flower to the German medical market.

ADREXpharma is a licensed wholesale distributor of controlled drugs and medical cannabis serving most of Germany’s 20,000 pharmacies. New legislation that came into force on April 1, 2024, removed medical cannabis from the German narcotic list, making access easier for Germans seeking to access cannabis for medical purposes.

Cannabis for medical purposes is available at pharmacies in Germany by prescription. Several Canadian cannabis companies have entered the German market in recent years as the country’s medical cannabis program has expanded, increasing demand for products.

In 2019, ADREXpharma announced a deal with Canadian cannabis producer MediPharmm Labs to supply cannabis concentrate derivative products, including THC and CBD oil, to the German market. Earlier this year, the German pharmaceutical company announced a similar deal with a Danish medical cannabis producer to supply cannabis oil through ADREXpharma.

This newest collaboration with Canadian cannabis company Mother Labs will help meet the evolving demands of the German cannabis market, says Nicole Broockmann, CEO of ADREXpharma.

“This partnership represents a significant milestone in our mission to provide German medical patients with the highest quality cannabis products. Mother Labs’ advanced genetic development capabilities perfectly complement our distribution and regulatory expertise. Together, we will bring a product to market that meets the highest standards of quality and consistency.”

The new “Mother Labs” branded cannabis flower is expected to soon be available in German pharmacies.

“We are excited to bring our advanced genetics to Germany in partnership with ADREXpharma,” said Brian Bain, CEO of Mother Labs. “Our purpose-built facility, with dedicated pheno-hunting space and comprehensive storage via our TC lab, allows us to rigorously test all genetics in-house for a minimum of 72 weeks before release. This precision process ensures that only the highest quality, stable, and unique genetics make it to market, reinforcing our position as leaders in genetic innovation.”

Bain told StratCann that the first run of genetics Mother Labs will provide into the German market will be Beta808 (Slurricane x Chatterbox) and Garlic Funk (First Class Funk x GMO). The second will be Tangerine Skies (Wedding Cake x Banjo), Orange Drink, King Z, and Flawless Victory (Ice Cream Cake x Cherry Cheese Cake). Mother Labs bred all of these cultivars, Bain says, except for Orange Drink.

“Over the past year or two, we’ve made significant strides in securing tighter control over our intellectual property, particularly our unique genetics. Rather than broadly releasing certain genetics in the Canadian market, we’ve been selective, tightly controlling which cultivators are initially proving out these genetics domestically and tightening up our terms around domestic and international sales. This approach ensures we maintain the strongest possible grip on our IP as we expand globally.”

Germany has become one of the newest countries to see a ramp-up of cannabis imports from Canada, with brands and producers either teaming up with local companies like ADREXpharma or through their own footprint in Germany, like Aurora and Tilray.

Apollo Green makes Humboldt Seed Company cultivars available to international market

April 30, 2024

Aurora Cannabis receives additional German licences

July 25, 2024

Tilray receives first new commercial medical cannabis licence in Germany

July 22, 2024

Report calls for more cohesion, public health focus to US cannabis laws

Written by David Brown on October 2, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

A new report from researchers in the US is calling on that country’s federal government to take the lead in more strictly regulating cannabis with an eye on public health.

The report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in the United States was compiled by members of the NASEM’s Committee on the Public Health Consequences of Changes in the Cannabis Policy Landscape.

Looking at countries like Canada and Uruguay that took a stricter public health focus to legalization, researchers say the US federal government needs to bring more cohesion to the dozens of various state-legal models allowing some form of medical and/or non-medical adult-use access to cannabis.

The US approach to legalization has generally been more focused on revenue generation for various levels of government through taxation and regulatory fees, as well as private businesses. At the same time, both Canada and Uruguay put policies in place that emphasized public health concerns over private profits or even personal liberties.

The report also calls on the US federal government to close hemp regulatory loopholes in the 2018 Farm Bill that have led to a proliferation of under-regulated semi-synthetic cannabinoids like delta-8THC.

“Existing state cannabis policies were developed without a public health strategy. State-to-state variations in regulations limit public health efforts to prevent harmful use. In contrast, some countries, such as Canada and Uruguay, have adopted more measured approaches with stricter government control over cannabis products and how they are sold or consumed. Such stricter regulatory frameworks may better protect public health.”

The committee was tasked with recommending a harm reduction approach to cannabis policy and setting a policy research agenda for the next five years.

“There is an urgent need for a coordinated public health approach to cannabis policy in the U.S.,” said Steven Teutsch, chair of the committee that wrote the report and senior fellow at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California.

“Our report shows that cannabis policy often focuses on regulating sales and revenue first, and protecting public health second. Now is the time for the federal government to create guidance for states that have legalized cannabis in the interest of protecting the public’s health.”

Many of the recommendations mirror the approaches to legalizing and regulating cannabis taken by Canada and Uruguay, models the report explores in-depth as well. From the report:

“Existing state cannabis policies were developed without a public health strategy. State-to-state variations in regulations limit public health efforts to prevent harmful use. In contrast, some countries, such as Canada and Uruguay, have adopted more measured approaches with stricter government control over cannabis products and how they are sold or consumed. Such stricter regulatory frameworks may better protect public health.”

In contrast, the state-legal approach in the US has meant little oversight for things like age-gating or enforcing advertising restrictions. The report also expresses significant concern about how the current “ambiguous definition of hemp” in the 2018 Farm Bill has led to a largely unregulated market for semisynthetic intoxicating cannabinoids.

The report includes several recommendations:

Congress should refine the definition of “hemp” to clearly state that no form of tetrahydrocannabinol or semi-synthetic cannabinoid derived from hemp is exempt from the Controlled Substances Act.
In conjunction with other federal agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should conduct research on and develop best practices for protecting public health for states that have legalized cannabis, drawing from tobacco and alcohol policies. These best practices should encompass marketing restrictions (e.g., on advertising and packing), age restrictions, physical retail and retail operating restrictions, taxation, price restrictions, product design, and measures to limit youth access. Other strategies for protecting public health that warrant identification of best practices include reducing cannabis-impaired driving, promoting state retail monopoly, and encouraging cultivation practices that limit contamination of both products and the environment. The best practices should be reconsidered and updated periodically as new research emerges.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in conjunction with its federal, state, tribal, and territorial partners, should create an adaptable public health surveillance system for cannabis. This surveillance system should include, at a minimum, cannabis cultivation and product sales, use patterns, and health impacts. It should also include all the essential components of a public health surveillance system: a surveillance plan, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, data dissemination, a link to action, and regular evaluation.
The U.S. Pharmacopeia has established product quality and analytical standards for cannabis inflorescence (flower) and is developing standards for cannabis extracts incorporated into pills and edibles. As these standards are completed, state cannabis regulators should adopt and enforce them to ensure the safety and quality of all legal cannabis products.
State cannabis regulators should require training and certification for all staff at cannabis retail outlets who interact with customers. The training should address the effects of cannabis on humans, prevention of sales to minors, warnings about cannabis-impaired driving, cannabis use in pregnancy, high-concentration or high-potency products, and how to identify signs of impairment. The effectiveness of the training should be assessed, and the content updated as new scientific information about the positive and negative impacts of cannabis emerges.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in coordination with other relevant agencies, should develop and evaluate targeted public health campaigns directed mainly toward parents and vulnerable populations (e.g., youth, those who are or are likely to become pregnant, adults over age 65) about the potential risks of cannabis; how to identify risky behaviour, such as the use of cannabis in combination with alcohol or prescription drugs; and risk mitigation strategies, such as lower-risk use guidelines and safe storage. These public health campaigns should include discouraging unhealthy use, such as the use of cannabis in combination with other substances (alcohol, tobacco, or drugs), and the increased risk associated with the use of high-concentration or high-potency products.
Congress should remove restrictions on the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) from studying the impacts of cannabis legalization. The ONDCP should be allowed to support research on the impacts of changes in cannabis policy.
Jurisdictions responsible for the enforcement of cannabis laws should endeavour to regularly gather and report detailed data concerning the use of criminal enforcement tools to enforce cannabis policies.
State cannabis regulators should systematically evaluate and, if necessary, revise their cannabis social equity policies to ensure they meet their stated goals and minimize unintended consequences. Policymakers should meaningfully engage affected community members when developing or revising these policies.
Where states have legalized or decriminalized adult use and sales of cannabis, criminal justice reforms should be implemented, and records automatically expunged or sealed for low-level cannabis-related offences.
The National Institutes of Health; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; state, local, and tribal health authorities; and private entities should support a research agenda focused on:
- public health outcomes of different approaches to cannabis regulation
- efficacy of tests used to determine cannabis impairment
- health effects of cannabis use (by product, amount, and frequency) by specific populations
- health effects of emerging cannabis products, and • mitigation of the risks of cannabis use.

Week in Weed – September 28, 2024

Written by Staff on September 28, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This week at StratCann, four cannabis companies were included among the top growing companies in Canada, Simply Solventless announced its plan to acquire ANC for $10 million in cash and stock, and Manitobans may finally be able to grow cannabis at home in 2025 legally.

Looking at the most recent figures from Statistics Canada, cannabis sales continue to show signs of levelling off, and David Brown commented on three upcoming provincial elections and how cannabis isn’t really a factor in any of them.

Koppert provided their insight on how to identify and naturally eliminate cannabis pests, while Four20 Premium Markets’s NOI proceedings were continued.

In law enforcement news, Calgary Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man behind several recent cannabis store robberies, four Canadians were caught trying to smuggle cannabis into the UK, and police in Ontario shut down two unlicensed cannabis shops in Niagara Falls.

In other cannabis news…

New Brunswick is seeking applications for a new private cannabis store in Dalhousie. CannabisNB also announced a new cannabis farmgate location in Drummond.

Grow Up founder Randy Rowe spoke with local media about the upcoming Grow Up Conference and Expo in Edmonton from September 29-October 1. (StratCann will be there!)

C3 President Paul McCarthy wrote about the challenges the industry faces with high excise rates in a guest piece in the Hill Times (paywall). And, C3 is hosting a half-day conference in Ottawa on October 1 to discuss these issues.

The European Union Drugs Agency finished a four-day visit to Canada, hosted by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, discussing topics that included cannabis initiatives as well as a visit to the SQDC.

Village Farms International Inc., the parent company of Pure Sunfarms, announced that it acquired the remaining equity ownership interest in Leli Holland, B.V. The company also announced that it has completed construction of the Leli Holland cultivation facility in the town of Drachten.

Avant Brands announced that it has entered into an exclusive trademark licensing agreement with Nectar Portfolio Pty Ltd., an Australian medicinal cannabis importer and distributor, marking Avant’s entry into the Australian medical cannabis market with its BLK MKT brand.

Avicanna Inc. announced a medical cannabis study through the MyMedi.ca medical cannabis care platform. The company seeks around 1,000 volunteers for its prospective non-interventional observational study.

Owen Sound, Ontario, hopes to improve safety by installing surveillance cameras paid for with the city’s Community Policing Reserve and Cannabis Reserve Funds.

Local media spoke with residents in Oro-Medonte Ontario about their thoughts on the Medical Saints cannabis operation on the outskirts of Shanty Bay. “Nobody got exactly what they wanted, but we came to an amicable solution,” said the mayor in another article.

La Sûreté du Québec says it has seized thousands of illegally-grown outdoor cannabis plants so far this year.

Quebec is going to court to fight the dumping of contaminated soil along the shores of a lake in the Mohawk community of Kanesatake. Media report that an affidavit from a government investigator names two cannabis dispensaries that have been built along the filled-in shoreline.

Investigators from the ACCES Cannabis Unit of the Quebec City Police Department (SPVQ) arrested a 47-year-old man during a search of a business on rue Saint-Joseph for the illegal sale of cannabis and its derivatives.

Five people now face charges following a series of police raids on two unlicensed Spirit River Cannabis stores in London, Ontario and the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation in August.

A Canadian woman caught attempting to bring nearly 18 kg of cannabis into Bermuda, hidden in her suitcase, was jailed for two years.

In international cannabis news…

A new ordinance in Colorado Springs, Colorado, requires that recreational cannabis shops not to be allowed within a one-mile buffer zone from schools, childcare facilities, and alcohol and drug treatment facilities, effectively banning them from most of the city. The city has no such rule for businesses that sell alcohol across the city.

A new report out of the US from a federal advisory panel says US health authorities need to play a more significant role in the nation’s cannabis policy. The report also includes a large section on Canada’s public-health-focused approach to cannabis legalization.

California has banned hemp products that contain any amount of THC in response to concerns with intoxicating substances like delta-8 THC.

Lobbying groups opposing and supporting a congressional effort to reign in the free-for-all around “intoxicating” hemp-derived cannabinoids in the US under the Farm Bill have ramped up their efforts in 2024 (paywall).

Kentucky awarded the first business license for its startup medical cannabis program, selecting a laboratory that will be assigned to test products before they are offered to patients. A lottery to award licenses to cultivators and processors will be held on October 28. The lottery for retail licenses will be announced later but will likely be in November.

And lastly, The US Security Exchange Commission issued fines of $175k each to two former Weedmaps executives for “negligent misrepresentations” of the company’s user numbers.

Four cannabis companies included among top growing companies in Canada

Written by Staff on September 27, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Producers, Retail.

Four Canadian cannabis companies made the Globe & Mail’s annual Report on Business, ranking Canada’s top growing companies.

In its fifth year, the annual report ranks 416 participating private and public Canadian businesses on three-year revenue growth.

The list includes three companies behind some of Canada’s largest retail chains: 1CM, which is the parent company of retail chains T Cannabis and Cost Cannabis; SNDL, which operates Superette, Spiritleaf, and Value Buds (as well as cannabis production); and High Tide, the parent company of the Canna Cabana chain of retailers.

In addition to SNDL’s footprint on the cannabis production side of the industry, the list also includes cannabis producer Avant Brands (BLKMKT, Tenzo, Treehugger, GreenTec, and cognoscente).

Located in Markham, Ontario, 1CM ranked 6th out of 416 companies with 116 employees and between $25M-$50M in revenue in 2023. The company is listed as a “vice retailer” touching the liquor, cannabis, tobacco, and vapes sectors. As of late 2023, 1CM operated 29 retail locations in Alberta, BC, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. It also listed four locations in development in Ontario.

The company also operates a technology platform that provides B2B and B2C solutions such as Last Mile Delivery, Digital Signage, Big Data Analytics & Wholesale Clearing Services.

Alberta’s SNDL is ranked as the 34th top company in the annual report, with 2,600 employees and 2023 revenue between $750 million and $1 billion. In addition to its retail assets Value Buds, Spiritleaf, Superette, and Firesale, SNDL also produces cannabis and manages several investments, including Canadian cannabis companies like Indiva and Delta 9.

Also based in Alberta, High Tide ranked 87th on the Globe & Mail’s list, with 1,600 employees and 2023 revenue between $250M – $500M

While the majority of High Tide’s sales are in the Canadian market through its Canna Cabana retail chain, it also operates its e-commerce platforms in the US such as Smoke Cartel, Grasscity, Daily High Club, DankStop, NuLeaf Naturals and FABCBD, as well as USA sales on its international e-commerce platforms. In addition, High Tide operates a warehouse that primarily services its e-commerce operations.

Lastly, BC-based Avant Brands (formerly GTEC Holdings) reached the 182nd spot on the list, with 200 employees and 2023 revenue between $25M and $50M.

Avant and High Tide made the list of 425 in 2023, along with Toronto’s Cronos Group. This is the first time 1CM and SNDL have made the cut, Avant’s second and High Tide’s fourth.

The Globe & Mail’s Report on Business Ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies ranks qualifying independent Canadian companies by the percentage of their revenue growth over three years. The application deadline for the 2025 ranking is May 23, 2025.

SNDL releases Q2 2024 results

August 2, 2024

High Tide reports second consecutive quarter of net income

September 16, 2024

Avant Brands reports increasing revenues, supported by international sales

April 15, 2024

Manitobans may finally be able to grow cannabis at home in 2025

Written by David Brown on September 26, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Manitoba.

Manitobans may finally be able to grow cannabis at home beginning in 2025, according to a new announcement from the provincial government.

In an email to the Winnipeg Free Press on September 25, Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the provincial government is in the process of drafting the regulations for a bill passed in June.

“The (Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority) is drafting regulations to ensure the framework for growing cannabis at home prioritizes public safety, with a focus on protecting youth and ensuring cannabis plants are not accessible to young people,” the minister’s email said.

The provincial government is expected to post the proposed regulations by the end of 2024 to allow time for public feedback. This is a change in the plans announced in June when a source with the Manitoba government told StratCann that such rules would be expected to be in place by November 2024.

When the bill was being debated in Manitoba parliament earlier this year, the Progressive Conservative opposition brought up concerns that they were passing a bill that had not yet been written. Only once the regulations are finalized will people in Manitoba be able to grow up to four plants at home.

Specifics such as where plants can be grown on a person’s property are still unknown.

“Who will monitor these grows, and who will monitor the sale of the seeds to produce these cannabis products?” asked PC MLA for Brandon West Wayne Balcaen when the bill was debated earlier this year.

The penalty in Manitoba for growing cannabis at home is currently a $2,542 fine, as well as up to a year in prison and forfeiture of personal property.

Manitoba and Quebec are the only two provinces to ban growing cannabis at home. In April of this year, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Quebec’s ban on home-grown cannabis, ruling that the province has the authority to enforce such a ban, even in the face of federal rules allowing up to four plants per household.

Simply Solventless announces plan to acquire ANC for $10 million

Written by Sarah Clark on September 26, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Producers.

Simply Solventless Concentrates Ltd. has entered into an agreement to buy cannabis producer ANC Inc. for $10 million in cash and shares.

In an announcement on September 25, Simply Solventless Concentrates (SSC) says the acquisition will complement SSC’s portfolio, especially ANC’s track record with pre-roll manufacturing.

The purchase price includes $7 million in cash paid out in three instalments through May 31, 2025, along with $3 million in shares of SCC at $0.50 per unit.

“We are thrilled to announce the foundational acquisition of ANC, continuing our strategy of profitable organic revenue growth and opportunistic acquisitions,” says SSC’s President & CEO Jeff Swainson. “ANC holds significant intellectual property, some of which is patented, and they have garnered industry-wide respect for their execution ability. Together with ANC’s incredible team, led by Clayton Bordeniuk, Tairance Rutter, Thomas Facciolo and James Clarke, we will leverage SSC’s strategic positioning, our complimentary core competencies, and our proforma profitability to capture continued opportunity and value for our shareholders.”

Following several positive quarters, SCC has been on a bit of a purchasing spree. On June 25, 2024, the Alberta-based company behind cannabis brands like Astrolab, Frootyhooty, Roilty, and Zest entered into a services agreement and share purchase agreement with CannMart Inc., a cannabis company located in Etobicoke, Ontario, for $2.5 million. SCC also recently acquired Lamplighter in January 2024.

As of June 30, 2024, the Company had a working capital surplus of $5,909,655, compared to $4,263,711 as of March 31, 2024.

ANC was first licensed as a micro cultivator in 2019 and later received its micro processing licence. The company then scaled up to a standard licence, with a focus on seed production and pre-roll manufacturing, something they have become well-known for in the industry. The acquisition will give SCC the ability to manufacture pre-rolls in-house, giving the parent company a new avenue for its own products to reach consumers.

Clayton Bordeniuk, President & CEO of ANC, stated in a press release: “ANC Solutions is a leader in infused pre-roll manufacturing in Canada, and we are excited to integrate into the SSC family. This partnership allows us to leverage our operational expertise and SSC’s broad network to drive continued innovation; and together, we will expand product offerings and enhance operational efficiencies while continuing to deliver premium cannabis products and services to the market. This deal marks a pivotal moment for ANC, as SSC is the growth partner that we had been looking for. It is our belief that our combined team, coupled with our shared focus on profitability and operational excellence, creates a platform for explosive growth and strong results as we move forward together.”

ANC is currently generating around $15 million of annualized revenue and $3.6 million of annualized net income. As this is B2B and tolling revenue, it is also not subject to excise taxes, something SSC says will benefit its overall corporate blended excise tax rate.

Featured image via ANC Solutions.

Simply Solventless reports seventh consecutive quarter of positive EBITDA

May 27, 2024

Simply Solventless reports another profitable quarter

August 15, 2024

New microbial limits for dried cannabis causes concern for some micros

December 4, 2020

Cannabis is no longer an election issue

Written by David Brown on September 26, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government.

In the lead-up to legalization, cannabis policies were the darling of nearly every elected official seeking to attach their names—positive or negative—to the headline-grabbing topic. From federal politicians to provincial and municipal, everyone suddenly had a lot to say about cannabis.

But fast forward some six years later, and most politicians act like they’ve never heard of cannabis or the cannabis industry. It is not much of an issue on the federal stage. BC, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan (October 19, 21, and 28, respectively) all have provincial elections this fall and cannabis is, essentially, not on the radar.

Outside of the issue of impaired driving apparently being an election touchpoint in Saskatchewan—at least for the Saskatchewan NDP—cannabis hasn’t arisen as an election issue at all.

In New Brunswick, the ruling Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick, which initially sought to dismantle the province-run retail system first established by the New Brunswick Liberal Party, has since taken the lead in preserving the existing retail framework, including adding new stores and allowing some private stores. The province also now boasts the most streamlined and affordable cannabis farmgate program in Canada.

The New Brunswick Liberals apparently have not mentioned any provincial cannabis-related issue, and the provincial Progressive Conservatives are not campaigning on the issue either.

In BC, despite an increasingly close election with the Conservative Party of BC surging in the polls in the past few months, neither party is touching the issue at all. Questions StratCann sent to BC’s Conservatives were met with a polite decline to comment.

This shouldn’t be all that surprising. The concept of legalizing weed was a vote-getter back in 2015, as was opposition to it. The legislative lead-up to the historic policy shift in the years, months, and days leading up to October 17, 2018, was ripe for politicians at all levels of government to get some easy publicity for their various bases.

But now that the fun and exciting stuff has been done, most voters—and therefore politicians—have moved on to newer and shinier (or at least more pressing) issues. While the industry might want to blame these politicians for its failures, I would argue this is also a failure of the industry to more effectively interest voters in the issues that are impacting the industry.

In BC, the local industry has numerous complaints regarding various provincial rules. Many small producers are frustrated by the overbuilt cannabis farmgate and direct delivery programs, both of which look great on paper but have had very low buy-in because of high costs and regulatory burdens.

However, the current government, the BC NDP, has little pressure on the issue from their opposition, the BC Conservatives, because the latter know these nuanced issues aren’t going to resonate with voters. In an election that will come down to a few key provincial ridings, the risk of alienating specific voters over something like the high fee charged in the cannabis direct delivery program is a non-starter.

Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are no different. Beyond one Saskatchewan NDP opposition critic calling out the province’s heavy-handed crackdown on cannabis detection in drivers, the issues that might face the industry there—high taxes, market saturation—are not going to be important to the vast majority of voters.

New Brunswick’s elections are focused on issues like immigration, the opioid crisis, and the cost of living, not the limits producers and retailers face with edibles’ THC limits.

In a way, this is a normal evolution of this subject from activism around the general concept of legalization—an issue broad enough to rally people around—to the niche nuances of a boring old agriculture and consumer packaged goods sector. But it’s also an example of an industry that perhaps got used to enjoying all that easy attention from voters and politicians and didn’t have a plan for how to stay a part of the conversation.

As the next federal election approaches, likely sometime next fall, the industry would be wise to find ways to convey these issues to the general voting public that can grab their attention. Because without voters, politicians have little reason to listen either.

Cannabis sales continue to show signs of levelling off in Canada

Written by David Brown on September 23, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Retail.

Cannabis sales showed some upward movement in the first half of 2024, but increases did not surpass those previous highs in much of the first half of 2023, as the annual growth of the market appears to be finding a ceiling.

Unadjusted retail cannabis sales in Canada continued to rebound through July from steep seasonal declines in January, but sales were down year-over-year from March through July compared to 2023.

When looking at the same figures adjusted for seasonal changes, July 2024 was down 1.8% from June and 3.8% compared to July 2023. Provincially, those declines appear to have been most pronounced in Ontario, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan.

While price compression is likely a factor in slowing overall sales figures, price compression has been an issue facing the industry for years now, even as overall sales continue to increase.

One change in the market is that the number of new stores has been slowing in the last year, which has correlated with increased sales since legalization began. Another possible factor is the increasing number of options consumers have in the illicit market, both brick-and-mortar and online stores.

Interestingly, after several years of declines, those registering to grow their own cannabis under designated and personal production licences for cannabis for medical purposes were increasing in the first half of 2024, despite greater oversight by Health Canada.

StratCann will continue to watch these monthly sales figures as they evolve to better understand these changing market factors.

Week in Weed – September 21, 2024

Written by Staff on September 21, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This week at StratCann, we looked at several updated data sets from the federal government, like unpackaged inventory of dried cannabis continuing to decline in the first four months of 2024, and Health Canada cannabis inspection figures for 2023-2024, while personal and designated medical registrations increased in early 2024 following years of decline. Medical registrations with LPs continued to decline.

Aurora Cannabis announced that they received a patent earlier this year related to their research on autoflower cannabis; a Canadian federal arbitrator ruled that cannabis detection was not impairment in a case involving a locomotive engineer; and researchers in the US said medical cannabis could save billions on US healthcare coverage.

E-commerce platform Breadstack shared how they can help retailers stand out against the numerous illicit offerings online, and the Cannabis Council of Canada is holding their Canadian Cannabis Leadership Summit 2024 in Ottawa on TUESDAY October 1.

In financial news, High Tide reported its second consecutive quarter of net income, and Tokyo Smoke began its Stalking Horse sale process.

In other cannabis news…(there’s a lot this week)

Cannabis retail sales in July in terms of dollars were down 1.8% month-over-month and 3.8% year-over-year (seasonally adjusted), likely reflecting continued price compression as well as a potential leveling-off of the market after 5 years of year-over-year growth. More on this from StratCann next week.

Avant was recognized by Business in Vancouver as one of the fastest-growing companies in British Columbia.

Origine Nature, a cannabis production company based in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, was ranked the 22nd best workplace in Canada in the category of manufacturing companies with 50 to 99 employees.

Final Bell Holdings International Ltd. announced that its US subsidiary, Final Bell Holdings, Inc., entered into an agreement to sell all the shares of Final Bell Corp., along with its subsidiary Westside Caregivers Club LLC, to Vassar Wellness Enterprises LLC. The sale marks Final Bell’s exit from its plant-touching manufacturing business segment, comprising operations in Canada and the US.

The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) welcomed two new vice presidents to its management team. Yves Lokossou is now Vice-President, Information Technology and Cybersecurity, and Jean-François Dulac-Lemelin is now Senior Vice-President, Customer Experience.

Retailer Rocky Mountain Roots in Barrhead, Alberta, was the target of a break-and-enter on Sunday, September 15. Mike Wilson, co-owner and manager, says he had asked RCMP to increase their presence in the area due to an increase of crime.

A Redditor posted what they said is a email response from Saskatchewan MLA Nathaniel Teed in regard to concerns about the province’s current zero-tolerance approach to THC detection in drivers, regardless of indications of impairment, that has led to an increase in roadside suspensions. The Saskatchewan NDP did not provide a response to several requests for confirmation and comment. Teed is the Saskatchewan NDP’s Official Opposition Critic for Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI). The province has an election in October.

Powell River, BC, is considering changes to its annual licensing fee for cannabis stores from a flat rate of $2,000 per year to just a few hundred, based on a store’s operational footprint and number of employees.

Trading of Decibel Cannabis Company Inc. was halted by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CRIO).

Simply Solventless Concentrates provided some figures from their upcoming Q3 2024 projected annualized gross revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and normalized net income.

MediPharm Labs Corp. announced that it has paid off its entire remaining convertible debt amount of $2.1 million, leaving the company materially debt-free.

A radio station in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, spoke with Organigram CEO Beena Goldenberg. She says that the top 10 LPs in Canada represent less than 40% of the overall market and says OGI has about a 7.5% market share.

Local media spoke with the owners of retailer Kasa Kana Cannabis and Accessories in Ontario on the opening of their fourth cannabis store, located in Gravenhurst.

A new research paper looking at the relationship between rates of cannabis use and Covid-19 infection rates says that models show that those residing where infection rates were higher were more likely to use cannabis and use it more often.

Tilray launched their Redecan brand into the Australian medical cannabis market with two 15-gram dried flower SKUs.

In mid-November, the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) will update the back-end of its e-commerce Shopify platforms. Minimal to no disruption to service is anticipated. More detail on the updates will be provided the week of October 21.

A property near Mission, BC, has unpaid fines of over $6,000 for an unpermitted cannabis building. The building appears abandoned.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. says chief executive imperator Miguel Martin is adding the title of executive chairman.

The Journal of Forensic Sciences looked at the emergence of semi-synthetic cannabinoids in cannabis products seized in Eastern Denmark over a 6-year period.

The Agenda’s Steve Paikin spoke with James MacKillop of McMaster University and Ranjeev Dhillon, a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, about the state of the cannabis industry, highlighting some of the same cooling sales figures StratCann has covered in recent months.

UK’s Akanda Corp received a license for hemp cultivation in Canada in connection with Akanda’s recently announced agreement with 1107385 B.C. LTD.

Edmonton Grow Up will be from Sunday, September 29–Wednesday, October 1 this year, and StratCann will be there helping to curate topics for the main stage!

RCMP and Sûreté du Québec raided at least two outdoor cannabis operations. More info to come.

International cannabis news

A hemp farmer in Maine is offering a u-pick option this fall. Sheepscot Farm sells whole plants for $30 and is growing five cultivars this year.

Thailand has proposed a new bill to regulate its cannabis industry and restrict marijuana use to primarily health and medical purposes—the latest effort to rein in recreational smoking after several policy U-turns, reports the Bangkok Times.

And finally, the LA Times again looked at the issue of pesticides in cannabis products in California.

Canadian Cannabis Leadership Summit 2024 in Ottawa

Written by David Brown on September 20, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Ontario.

The Cannabis Council of Canada (C3) is hosting its Canadian Cannabis Leadership Summit 2024 in Ottawa on Tuesday, October 1.

The half-day event will take place at the National Arts Center (NAC) in Ottawa near Parliament Hill, with four panels from 1:00-5:00 pm focussed on issues facing the industry.

Those panels will include an in-depth conversation about the excise duty and its impacts on the industry, with C3 calling for a 10% ad valorem rate to replace the $1 a gram rate. A second panel will explore the need for a single national excise stamp. The third and fourth panels will focus on reducing the overall regulatory burden and the need for industry to come up with a standard “unit” of THC.

C3 president Paul McCarthy, who has been busy reinvigorating the organization since taking on the position in April, says he’s bringing together topics and speakers that reflect the most pressing issues the industry currently faces.

“There are a number of goals associated with this conference. I think it is important to establish the Canadian Cannabis Council not just as a trusted voice in this industry but as the trusted voice. To do that, we need to be leading the conversation, and doing so in a responsible and credible manner. That requires taking on the tough issues by bringing together the leading experts, be it in cannabis, mental health, finance, or whatever discipline is needed. That is how you advance the conversation. And if you look at our panels, you’ll see precisely that.”

Speakers include Beena Goldenberg, CEO, Organigram; Orville Bovenschen, President, Pure Sunfarms; David Lobo, CEO, Ontario Cannabis Store; Dr. Mark Ware, Director, Allan Edwards Pain Management Unit; Gillian Schauer, Executive Director, US Cannabis Regulators Association; and, Barry Katzman, Managing Director, Peak Processing.

“Job number one,” continues McCarthy, “is about the financial viability of licensed producers. That is why two of the four panels we are hosting are on the excise duty rate and the excise stamp. These represent our top two issues. We want to bring these conversations to the doorstep of Parliament so that there is broader awareness and understanding and so that everyone is clear on what we are asking for.”

McCarthy says he has plans for C3 to host more events of this kind in the next year. Keeping events like this to just a few panels not only reflects the busy nature of the industry, he explains, but also recognizes that the politicians and policymakers they are also speaking with have busy schedules and many competing priorities.

“We are hosting this over an afternoon because we feel that’s the most effective way to do it: be laser-focused on the top priorities. You cover less width but get more depth. And then people are really clear about what is important to you and why. Of course, in this instance, change to the excise tax is imperative if we are to have financial viability for licensed producers. It’s the top issue by far.”

More information on the Canadian Cannabis Leadership Conference is available here.

How retailers can tackle the black market and strengthen business with Breadstack

Written by Contributor on September 18, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Products, Retail.

In the cannabis industry, it’s no secret that the black market is still a formidable player. While we wait for regulatory changes to catch up, black market operators aren’t slowing down. In fact, they’re stepping up their game.

But here’s the good news: you don’t have to sit back and watch. With the right digital tools and strategies, you can fight back and win.

At High Flyer Media, we’ve always been passionate about the power of a strong digital presence. We’ve spent years helping cannabis brands build that presence, particularly through SEO. Now, with Breadstack’s Dispensary eCommerce, we’re thrilled to support progressive work on the retail side, ensuring legal retailers have the same digital edge the brands we work with enjoy. The tools are here, and it’s time to use them.

The black market’s playbook: why they’re still winning

Black market operators, whether they’re brick-and-mortar stores or online Mail-Order Marijuana (MOM) shops, are more sophisticated than many give them credit for. These folks have SEO dialled in, which means they’re showing up on Google search results and drawing in customers—both long-time cannabis consumers and the “canna-curious.” This creates confusion for newcomers and shoppers who may not even realize they’re buying from unregulated sources.

That’s why SEO matters. If you’re not showing up where customers are searching, you’re losing business to the black market. It’s as simple as that. But here’s the exciting part: with Breadstack’s tools and expertise, you can beat them at their own game.

Take back the online space with SEO

As digital marketing pros, we know how much SEO can change the game. Breadstack empowers cannabis retailers to optimize their online presence, ensuring your store—not some shady unlicensed operators—shows up first in the search results. It’s about being visible, credible, and, most importantly, trustworthy.

Breadstack helps you create SEO-driven landing pages focused on delivery and products. When someone in your area is searching for “cheap ounces” or “weed deals,” your store will be front and center. That’s how you get in front of customers, and Breadstack helps you do it in a way that’s efficient and effective.

Retail tools built for the cannabis market

Now, let’s talk solutions. Breadstack isn’t just about SEO (though that’s a major part of it). They offer powerful tools that integrate seamlessly with your current setup, helping you serve your customers better and drive more sales.

POS integration: make shopping easy

At High Flyer, we’ve seen how important it is for cannabis retailers to offer a seamless shopping experience. Breadstack’s integration with your POS system makes this happen. Their carousels make your landing pages more dynamic and shoppable, which means more clicks turning into sales. And honestly, that’s what it’s all about—making it easy for customers to buy from you.

INTERAC integration: the secret sauce

Here’s where Breadstack really shines. They’re the only ones offering INTERAC integration, which is a game-changer. Why? Because not everyone wants to, or can, use a credit card to buy cannabis. Whether it’s privacy concerns or simply not having a card, many customers prefer INTERAC. And Breadstack delivers it.

By offering INTERAC as a payment method, you’re not only giving customers what they want, but you’re also saving yourself money. Fewer credit card transactions mean lower fees and less fraud risk. For every order processed through INTERAC, you’re saving/making an extra 2.9%. Plus, over 20% of all in-house delivery orders are paid for by INTERAC. When you consider that sales have gone up 22% since Breadstack launched, it’s clear this is a tool you can’t afford to ignore.

Win over legacy shoppers

Legacy shoppers are your bread and butter. These folks were in the cannabis game long before legalization, and they have certain expectations when it comes to buying. If you’re forcing them to use a credit card they don’t want to, you’re losing out. Breadstack’s INTERAC integration caters directly to their needs, ensuring they get the experience they want with the payment methods they trust.

Reduce fraud, lower fees, keep more of what you earn

Credit card fraud is a headache no retailer wants to deal with. And those processing fees? They add up fast. Breadstack’s INTERAC integration helps solve both problems. With fewer credit card transactions, you cut down on fraud risk, and you pay fewer fees. More money stays in your pocket—and who doesn’t want that?

Don’t wait for regulators—take action now

Waiting for regulations to level the playing field? That could be a long wait. The black market certainly isn’t waiting, and neither should you. With Breadstack’s powerful SEO tools, POS integration, and INTERAC payments, you’ve got everything you need to fight back and win. The tools are here. The time to act is now.

At High Flyer Media, we’ve always been big on giving cannabis brands the digital edge they need to succeed. Partnering with Breadstack just makes sense. Together, we’re helping retailers take control of their online presence, serve their customers better, and beat the black market at its own game.

Want to know more? Let’s talk. We’re here to help you grow your business and make the most of the tools Breadstack has to offer. You’ve got this.

Content sponsored by: Breadstack

Aurora Cannabis receives patent related to autoflower cannabis

Written by David Brown on September 17, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Producers, Products.

Following years of research, Aurora Cannabis received a patent that allows the company to better identify and select for autoflowering traits in cannabis plants.

The patent, filed in April 2022, was awarded in June 2024 for US Patent 12,002,546, “Methods of Determining Sensitivity to Photoperiod in Cannabis”. The work provides an opportunity to support future breeding strategies and can be leveraged to “revolutionize” outdoor cannabis cultivation in high-latitude regions, such as Canada, the company says.

Our recent work on autoflowering will be a gamechanger for cannabis and hemp production. This research speaks to our expertise and investment in science that will move this industry forward.
Jose Caledon, PhD, Director, Breeding and Genetics at Aurora

“As a company backed by science, we have long invested in research both independently and with leading academic institutions, and have achieved significant learning from our work,” says Jose Celedon, PhD, Director, Breeding and Genetics at Aurora, who is named on the patent. “Our recent work on autoflowering will be a gamechanger for cannabis and hemp production. This research speaks to our expertise and investment in science that will move this industry forward.”

So-called “autoflower” cannabis plants reach maturity and enter into the flowering phase not on the changing amount of daylight, but based on the plant’s age. Autoflowers are generally created by cross-breeding more traditional commercial high THC cultivars with Cannabis ruderalis, a subspecies of Cannabis native to Central and Eastern Europe and Russia that does not rely on a changing photoperiod for flower production.

Autoflowers are especially useful in outdoor settings in northern climates like Canada, with shorter growing seasons.

Aurora has significantly invested in cannabis breeding since 2018, especially through its breeding facility in Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley. A recent investor report from Aurora says that since June 2019, the company has delivered 19 new proprietary cultivars from its research programs. In November 2021, Aurora also launched its new genetics licensing business unit, Occo, as part of its Comox facility.

Aurora’s research has launched new cultivars like Chemango Kush, Pink Diesel ’71, Cosmic Cream, Moon Berry, Critical Diesel, Ginger Breath CKS, and Black Jelly into the European and Australian markets. Aurora also hopes to generate income through the licensing of these cultivars to other licensed producers and has in the past said they would aggressively target any companies using their genetics without their permission.

In 2023, Aurora announced they were teaming up with a UBC researcher to create cannabis more adapted for outdoor production in Canada. The team was said to be working on developing more suitable commercial cultivars for use in outdoor settings by cross-breeding so-called autoflower characteristics into “elite” cannabis genetics.

Dr. Caledon, the director of breeding and genetics at Aurora Cannabis, is part of that program.

“As a global cannabis company enabled by science, we are proud to invest in the continued advancement of cannabis cultivation that will positively impact the longevity of the industry in Canada,” Caledon said in 2023. “Our long-standing relationship with UBC has allowed for valuable, collaborative work in genomics. Our shared findings from the GIRAFF project will be applied to Aurora’s leading growing practices today and in the future, supporting a more sustainable industry.”

This is not the first cannabis breeding program involving UBC and Aurora, which operates its Coast cannabis breeding facility on Vancouver Island, which hosts the Occo research centre. In 2020, more than $4.2 million in federal, provincial, and industry funding was announced to aid with UBC research into enhanced cannabis cultivars, focusing on disease resistance.

The project, Fast-Track Breeding of Powdery Mildew-Resistant Cannabis, involved UBC researchers Dr. Loren Rieseberg and Dr. Todesco in partnership with Aurora Cannabis.

Aurora Cannabis receives additional German licences

July 25, 2024

Aurora Cannabis says to expect legal action to protect their genetic library

February 10, 2022

UBC and Aurora Cannabis looking at developing better outdoor cultivars for Canada

July 31, 2023

Personal and designated medical registrations increase in early 2024 following years of declines

Written by David Brown on September 17, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News.

The number of people registering to access medical cannabis in Canada continues to decline according to Health Canada’s most recent quarterly report. In contrast, those registering for personal and designated cultivation of cannabis for their own medical purposes showed a reverse of this trend.

Medical client registrations with federally licensed sellers fell 2% from 183,909 in December 2023 to 180,878 in March 2024. Such registrations have been on a downward trend since late 2019, followed by a brief spike in 2020 related to the COVID-19 pandemic and brief restrictions on accessing brick-and-mortar stores.

Those declines have been most pronounced in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Other provinces have shown a relative levelling off for the past two years following the brief spike in new registrations in 2020.

Personal and designated production licences

Similarly, active personal/designated production registrations have declined since a peak in September 2021. That trend began to reverse in November 2023 and increased month-over-month through March 2024. The number of individuals registered with Health Canada for personal and designated cultivation of cannabis for their own medical purposes increased 15% from 13,672 in December 2023 to 15,726 in March 2024.

Interestingly, this trend is seen in each province and territory as well, although increases were most pronounced in BC (696), Quebec (671), and Ontario (470).

Health Canada also continues to note that the number of grams per day associated with these personal and designated production licences continues to trend much higher than the average gram per day associated with those registered to access cannabis for medical purposes from a licensed producer.

The average daily amount authorized by healthcare practitioners for those accessing medical cannabis from an LP has been between 2.0 and 2.4 grams per day since legalization began in October 2018.

Participants in the designated or personal production program have an average daily authorized amount of 34.4 grams, about 15 times higher than the average daily amount authorized by healthcare practitioners.

Authorized amounts by healthcare practitioners

While there were 4,728 healthcare practitioners associated with registrations made in the previous twelve months with federally licensed sellers, there were 1,015 healthcare practitioners associated with active personal/designated production registrations.

Of those 1,015, there were 233 healthcare practitioners associated with authorizing amounts equal to or above 25 grams per day, and just ten authorized amounts equal to or above 100 grams per day.

Health Canada inspections ramped up

There have long been concerns from different levels of government over the potential for misuse and diversion of cannabis from these types of licences associated with high gram totals.

Health Canada has ramped up inspections of such licences, more than 300 in the last two years. The most recent annual report also included 20 compliance and enforcement activities (other than inspection) for registered personal and designated production of cannabis for medical purposes, such as conducting seizures and destructions.

Of the 160 inspections of registered personal and designated production of cannabis for medical purposes locations in 2023-2024, 74 were in British Columbia, 63 in Ontario, 18 in Quebec, and five in New Brunswick. In the previous year, the majority of such inspections (115 out of 170) were in Ontario. In the previous year, the majority of such inspections were conducted in Ontario.

The federal agency also sends notices to provincial colleges of physicians informing them of those health care practitioners connected to numerous high gram-a-day authorizations. In 2020, the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons levied a $15,000 disciplinary action against a Saskatchewan doctor found to be profiting from issuing medical cannabis licences in 2018.

In 2021, a medical cannabis patient who had been authorized 100 grams a day had a court reject an allowance for the patient to possess up to 1000 grams in public at a time.

In a memo from October 2022, Health Canada said that since it began a new processes to address high authorization amounts through the medical cannabis program, the agency had observed a decrease of more than 50% in the number of individuals registering to produce cannabis for medical purposes.

In September 2021, continued the memo, there were approximately 47,000 individuals registered with Health Canada. As of September 30, 2022, the number of registered individuals has dropped to approximately 21,700.

Health Canada says it has also refused or revoked more than 1,400 registrations, including over 700 for reasons of public health and safety. This represents a 113% increase in refusals and revocations, and a 423% increase in the number of refusals and revocations made on the grounds of public health and public safety since March 2022.

Canadian cannabis imports and exports

Exports of cannabis products from Canada continue to increase, with the last month in the most recent quarter, March 2024, showing a record amount of dried cannabis flower exported: more than 12,000 kilograms.

Monthly exports of cannabis oil have also shown annual increases, although not as pronounced as for dried flower. January 2024 showed a record number of litres exported, several times higher than the average at more than 3200 litres.

Imports and exports of cannabis to and from Canada are only allowed for medical or scientific purposes. Imports are very restricted, with only a small amount of dried flower and cannabis oil ever making its way into Canada from abroad. Only 28.84 litres of cannabis oil and 28.76 kilograms of dried cannabis have been imported into Canada since October 2018.

This compares to 45,286.94 litres of cannabis oil exported and 21,2534.42 kilograms of dried flower exported.

The increasing amount of cannabis being exported from Canada, combined with an overall decline in the amount of cannabis being produced in Canada, has led to the wholesale cannabis market finally beginning to move from a buyer’s market to a seller’s.

This means a slight increase in how much the average cannabis grower will get for their cannabis on the B2B market. At the same time, price compression at the retail level continues to increase, with consumers paying less and less for the average gram of cannabis at the retail level.

Retail sales have also shown some levelling off and even declines in total dollars spent on cannabis in some provinces in the past year, potentially reflecting not only continued price compression but also declining volume or at least a levelling off of sales in some markets following years of year-over-year growth.

Medical cannabis registrations continue to decline in Canada

May 17, 2024

Alberta Municipalities calls for limits on medical cannabis grows in residential areas

October 23, 2022

New compliance and enforcement report highlights return of in-person inspections

April 21, 2023

Health Canada cannabis inspections: 2023-2024

Written by David Brown on September 16, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Producers.

The number of inspections of federally licensed cannabis facilities and licence holders in the 2023-2024 fiscal year was on par with the previous year, but targeted inspections increased notably.

Health Canada conducted a total of 662 inspections of cannabis licence holders in the year ending March 31, 2024, including 160 inspections of registered personal and designated production of cannabis for medical purposes.

This number is on par with the 662 inspection activities in the previous year, 170 of which were of registered personal and designated production of cannabis for medical purposes inspections.

Targeted inspections increased significantly from the previous year, from 18 to 101. A targeted inspection is conducted to assess specific issues at a licensed facility.

In addition to the 160 inspections of registered and designated production licence sites, the regulator also conducted 20 compliance and enforcement activities (other than inspection) for registered personal and designated production of cannabis for medical purposes, such as conducting seizures and destructions.

In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Health Canada also issued 21 non-compliant inspection reports to licence holders for issues such as non-compliance related to Good Production Practices (GPP), unsatisfactory retention of documents and information, and not conducting activities as per their responsibilities. It issued 15 in 2022-2023.

Health Canada also issued three warning letters to formally advise licence holders of their non-compliances and to request corrective measures, conducted five seizures and detentions of products, and issued two administrative monetary penalty recommendations and two notices of violation.

While there were only five instances of sampling in the previous year, there were 113 sampling activities conducted in the most recent year. Health Canada can take product samples for testing to confirm they pass for things covered by federal regulations, such as microbial and chemical contaminations and pesticides, and follow-up on reported adverse reactions and complaints. In late 2023, Health Canada confirmed it had also conducted targeted inspections to verify reported THC levels.

Health Canada also conducted 31 industrial hemp compliance monitoring project inspections and 24 plant breeder compliance monitoring project inspections. The inspection results were all compliant.

Personal and designated licences

Of the 160 inspections of registered personal and designated production of cannabis for medical purposes locations, 74 were in British Columbia, 63 in Ontario, 18 in Quebec, and five in New Brunswick. In the previous year, the majority of such inspections (115 out of 170) were in Ontario.

Of those inspections in the most recent fiscal year, 93 received a level 3 rating, 17 received a level 2 rating, 36 received a level 1 rating, and 14 inspections were not rated. A level 1 indicates a low risk of non-compliance, whereas a level 3 indicates a “severe” risk of non-compliance.

Based on these inspections, Health Canada revoked or refused 29 registrations. The agency says additional actions are currently ongoing or under consideration. It revoked or refused 16 in the previous year.

Marketing and promotion

Health Canada also monitors the market to ensure federal licence holders adhere to federal promotional prohibitions. Of the 243 cases of potential non-compliance related to promotions inspected between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, there were 134 actions: 89 compliance emails or letters, and 45 compliance promotion emails or calls, but no administrative monetary penalties were issued.

Unpackaged inventory of dried cannabis continued to decline in the first four months of 2024

Written by David Brown on September 16, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Products.

The Government of Canada recently released newly updated sales and inventory figures for the cannabis industry, highlighting changing trends as the industry continues to mature. The new numbers are up-to-date through March 2024.

Unpackaged inventory of dried cannabis continued to decline in the first four months of 2024. This figure has declined fairly steadily from a peak in October 2022, except for a slight increase last fall, likely due to outdoor harvests.

Packaged sales of edible cannabis continue to trend upward over the past year, while packaged inventory with federal licence holders and provincial distributors and retailers has remained relatively stable.

Packaged inventory of cannabis extracts with licence holders continues to trend slightly up, while package sales show a continued upward trend with seasonal declines. Extracts sell more in the warmer seasons than in winter, although the decline in these sales in the first few months of 2024 was steeper than in previous years.

Packaged inventory of cannabis topicals was very volatile in 2023 but increased and appeared to level out in late 2023 and early 2024. Cannabis topical sales show a long-term upward trend but still a lot of month-to-month fluctuation.

Packaged inventory of cannabis plants for sale into the medical and non-medical consumer markets increased in March 2024 along with the spring planting season but continued to be much lower than peaks in mid-2023. Most sales of cannabis plants are into the medical market, but sales in the non-medical market in the first half of 2023 spiked significantly.

Sales of dried cannabis in the non-medical sales channels increased slightly in March 2024, the most recent available month, but are down from a record peak last summer. Sales of dried cannabis in the medical sales stream continue to hover around $200-300k a month.

The introduction of clone sales in BC’s direct delivery program in 2023, as well as the opening of the first and only cannabis nursery farmgate store in New Brunswick, are potentially behind much of these seasonal increases.

Whole cannabis plant inventory is up year-over-year in early 2024 but down from highs in 2021.

Inventory of packaged cannabis seeds, especially among federal licence holders, continues to decline from peaks in 2021 and 2022.

The total licensed building area for federal licence holders continues to slowly trend down, as does indoor production area and, to a lesser degree, processing space. Outdoor production space was down month-over-month in March 2024 but has been trending up since 2022.

Estimated employment on federally licensed sites continues to trend slowly downward from peaks in 2021.

Week in Weed – September 14, 2024

Written by Staff on September 14, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International, Other.

This week at StratCann, we took an in-depth look at the CCAA process and concerns that some companies are taking advantage of it to avoid creditors.

We also looked at a new cannabis industry organization hoping to establish better standards for testing; the expansion of Community Savings and We Can Capital’s factoring program; and the new cannabis training program from CTC.

Peace Naturals recalled some infused pre-rolls and CBD extract from Ontario, while High Tide announced the launch of Queen of Bud branded products through Canna Cabana. The Northwest Territory Liquor and Cannabis Commission awarded a contract to build a new cannabis distribution warehouse.

In Canadian law enforcement news, four arrests were announced in connection with cannabis store break-ins in Toronto and Durham Region. RCMP in Nova Scotia seized cannabis products and arrested two in Mount Uniacke. Hay River RCMP in NWT seized 40 cannabis plants and arrested a 70-year-old man. The BC government wants to seize $5.6 million worth of properties connected to cannabis operations, law enforcement from QC and NB seized hundreds of kg of cannabis, and RCMP seized 600 kg of cannabis in Manitoba traffic stop.

In other Cannabis news…

Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Vectura Fertin Pharma, Inc. announced the launch of the newly developed Luo CBD lozenge. The CBD lozenge is being manufactured, packaged, and labelled by Cogent, a Vectura Fertin Pharma subsidiary, and distributed by Aurora through its medical cannabis platform. Council in Milton, ON, approved the extension of a bylaw that permits the continued operation of the Trichome Hills Corporation for another three years. Trichome Hill is a cannabis nursery and research licence holder first received its licence to operate in 2021.

The NWT Liquor and Cannabis Commission (NTLCC) has selected Buffalo Parcel Courier Services to build a new cannabis warehouse, reports NNSL Media. The territory’s current staging area for cannabis distribution has been temporary. The new space is expected to cost about $300,000 to build. Cannabis is currently sold in two liquor stores across the Northwest Territories under contract with the NTLCC, four private stores, and one private online store.

Some 40 workers at five ‘The Joint’ locations in Saskatoon voted to join UFCW Canada Local 1400.

Canadian Accountant writes that the prosecution of BF Borgers and its principal by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario closes another chapter in the Canadian cannabis story.

Decibel Cannabis says it is refocusing on its dried flower consumer, along with a reorganization of dried flower processing across its facilities as it says demand is outpacing its current supply. Much of this will be for export to the UK, Israel, Australia, and Germany.

HYTN Innovations Inc. announced the establishment of international manufacturing and pricing agreements with the UK’s 4C LABS. These agreements aim to enable the production of cannabis products in bulk and final packaged forms for distribution in the UK and other global markets.

The Canadian cannabis industry surpasses the US in greenhouse gas emissions, attributed to colder climates that necessitate heating, says a recently published research paper.

Vancouver is Awesome ran a promotional piece on BC’s retail chain Inspired Cannabis.

Cannabis agriculture is experiencing a revolution brought on by genetic research, propelling a new era in the cultivation and production of this globally sought-after crop, reports Earth.com.

International cannabis news

Japan will criminalize cannabis use and legalize medical products using substances derived from the plant under revised relevant laws, both effective on December 12, according to the country’s health ministry. The possession and cultivation of cannabis are already banned in Japan. The new law will also prohibit its use, with a prison sentence of up to seven years.

A new study found that cannabis use in the US has been increasing but not among teenagers.

SFGate reports that a former senior official with California’s Department of Cannabis Control is accusing the agency of retaliating against her after she repeatedly warned her superiors about corruption and toxic products being sold in the legal cannabis market.

Product Earth, the UK’s largest cannabis expo, cancelled the second day of the event, citing issues with the venue. Reports say the issue was related to concerns from venue staff with indoor consumption.

And finally, for the first time, the Israeli Ministry of Health will begin regular sample tests for medical cannabis products in Israel; the move comes against the background of the transfer of responsibility for tests to the companies themselves, the reduction of the permitted ranges of active substances, and previous lawsuits on the subject.

Cannabis farmgate in Canada: From farm to joint

Written by David Brown on September 13, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Government, New Brunswick, Ontario, Retail.

While there are several thousand cannabis stores in Canada, consumers can purchase cannabis directly from the grower at just a handful of locations.

Only about a dozen of these cannabis farmgate stores operate in a handful of provinces, allowing consumers to engage more directly with the cannabis grower or processor. Each province has a slightly different approach to this type of licensing, and each business has found its own unique angle to the model.

Ontario was the first to launch its farmgate program in 2021, licensing the first two locations on April 20 of that year. As of May 2024, Ontario listed five fully licensed farmgate locations.

New Brunswick became the second province to announce a cannabis farmgate program, also in 2021, allowing for “on-site selling of in-house products for local LPs, nurseries, and micros.” The province currently lists five such locations after the sixth in the province was forced to give up its production licence.

In late 2022, British Columbia began allowing applications under its farm-to-gate Producer Retail Store licensing model. Since the launch of the program, only three companies have applied. The first opened in 2022, while a second was just licensed on September 12 with a grand opening expected in the coming weeks. The third applicant is currently working its way through the licensing process.

Here’s a breakdown of the different approaches to farmgate in each of these provinces, as well as the businesses operating under such licences.

Cannabis farmgate in Ontario

Ontario currently lists five farmgate locations: Thrive Cannabis in Simcoe, Kingston Cannabis in Kingston, Level Up in Toronto, Royal Cannabis Supply Company in Toronto, and Station House Cannabis Co. in St. Thomas.

The cost of licensing associated with a farmgate licence (Retail Operating Licence (ROL) and Retail Store Authorization (RSA)) in Ontario is around $10,000 for the first two years. More information about Ontario’s farmgate licensing process can be found here.

*Station House Cannabis in St. Thomas ON*

Cannabis farmgate in New Brunswick

There are currently six cannabis production licence holders in New Brunswick with a farmgate licence: Eco Canadian Organic in Rexton, Sana’a in Miramichi, Hidden Harvest in Moncton, Stewart Farms in St. Stephen, Green Herb Farms in St Joseph-de-Kent, and Pinnacle Farms in Drummond. Hidden Harvest is the only cannabis nursery in Canada with a farmgate licence, allowing for the sale of plants directly to consumers.

The cost of a cannabis farmgate licence in New Brunswick is about $1,750 a year. More info about farmgate in New Brunswick can be found here.

*Eco Canadian Organic’s farmgate store in Rexton, NB*

Cannabis Farmgate in British Columbia

There are currently two licenced cannabis farmgate stores in BC: ShuCanna in Salmon Arm and the Victoria Cannabis Co. in Victoria, although the latter was only licensed recently and, as of publication, has yet to open.

The cost of a cannabis farmgate licence in BC is $7,500 to apply, and then a $1,500 per year annual fee if approved. There can also be municipal licensing fees, depending on location. Applications are open to all federal licence holders except stand-alone processors.

British Columbia also allows for special licensing agreements with First Nations communities in the province, two of which operate as farmgate stores. One, All Nations cannabis, is in Shxwhá:y Village, near Chilliwack, BC while the other, Sugar Cane Cannabis is operated by Williams Lake First Nation in Williams Lake.

BC cannabis producers prepare for farmgate, but questions remain

January 12, 2022

Cannabis farmgate across Canada

June 12, 2021

OCS to allow farmgate stores to sell exclusive products

May 9, 2024

New cannabis industry organization seeks to establish better standards for testing

Written by Staff on September 11, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News.

A new organization that hopes to help establish standards-based information about cannabis products and companies in Canada is hosting its first workshop in Ottawa in September.

The Cannabis Standards Alliance of Canada (CSAC) is a newly launched not-for-profit organization seeking to establish enforceable industry standards and provide consumers and industry with evidence-based information about cannabis products.

In their first workshop on September 20, the new association will focus on the accuracy of THC values on dried cannabis flower products. The goal of the workshop will be to create standards for sampling practices by producers and analytical labs for testing purposes such as sample selection and preparation.

“CSAC provides the cannabis sector with an alternative to lab shopping/THC inflation, creating a level playing field for producers, labs and dispensaries of all sizes,” said Pierre Killeen, the organization’s Executive Director, in a press release. “Going forward, the Cannabis Standards Alliance of Canada will develop additional enforceable standards helping the sector capitalize on the many opportunities of legal cannabis, both here in Canada and internationally.”

Killian has an extensive history in policy and public affairs and was most recently the executive director of the Institute on Cannabis and the VP of legislative and regulatory affairs at the Cannabis Council of Canada. Before that, he was VP of corporate communications and government relations at Hexo, a Quebec-based cannabis producer.

Issues with the accuracy of THC testing have been a hot topic in the cannabis industry in Canada and beyond. The Ontario Cannabis Store even began conducting internal testing on products it carries to ensure THC levels are accurate.

In 2023, Health Canada also announced it was launching a data-gathering program on cannabis markets in Canada that will include sampling and testing of both legal and illegal products currently in the market.

More information about CSAC can be found on their website at https://cannsac.org/

Community Savings and We Can Capital expand factoring program

Written by David Brown on September 10, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Producers.

A BC-based credit union that has partnered with a BC financing agency to provide invoice factoring to BC cannabis producers says they have already provided more than $5 million in payments to the industry since launching earlier this year.

They’re ready to expand the program to more BC cannabis growers and processors.

Community Savings and We Can Capital Inc. first launched the pilot project in February aimed at giving BC cannabis producers more direct access to working capital, allowing participants to essentially sell their invoices from the BC or Ontario distribution centres.

Factoring is a financial service where a business can sell its outstanding invoices to a factoring company in exchange for immediate cash.

Under the program, a BC cannabis producer delivers its finished goods and issues an invoice to the provincial board with which they have a sales agreement. Rather than waiting 14, 30, or even 60 days for payment from the province, producers can sell that invoice, receiving a 75-82.5% advance from Community Savings and We Can Capital on the same day.

“Cannabis businesses should have access to the same banking products as every other business in Canada,” says Mike Schilling, President and CEO of Community Savings Credit Union. “We are proud to be a pro-cannabis industry credit union that is fighting against banking discrimination and stepping up to provide affordable access to invoice factoring for licensed producers.”

“The fact that we just launched this program in February and have already achieved $5.3 million in invoice factoring this year, demonstrates the need and demand for this service. We are here to support BC cannabis producers and help grow their businesses.”

As an example of how the program has matured, Community Savings says it has already been able to increase the purchasing limit from $500,000 to $750,000 for Nelson, BC-based cannabis producer Woody Nelson.

Toby Summers, Director of Woody Nelson Inc., said: “Community Savings’ and We Can Capital’s foresight to create offerings to support BC’s underserved cannabis industry has been transformative for Woody Nelson. The liquidity provided by Community Savings’ factoring line has ensured Woody Nelson has the necessary supply chain inventory to support rapid growth, which has been instrumental in achieving our first quarter of positive EBITDA.”

Joshua Reynolds, Partnership Director of We Can Capital Inc., says the success of a company like Woody Nelson, which he says has been able to increase its output because of the more ready access to capital, proves the factoring program works and proves they are ready to move out of the pilot phase and expand it to more BC producers.

“Partnering with Community Savings to work with Toby and the Woody Nelson team reaffirms my dedication to bolstering the financial stability of this dynamic industry. Witnessing firsthand the transformative impact of instant working capital on a company is truly inspiring. It’s a privilege for We Can Capital to contribute to such a vital sector and support the growth and success of businesses like Woody Nelson.”

Earlier this year, Dayna Lange, the CFO of Tricanna Industries and Community Savings Credit Union cannabis member, told StratCann the program will help cannabis producers like Tricanna build better supply chain relationships.

“Having instant access to our own money has been a game-changer for the way we approach the continued growth and reputation of our business,” says Lange. “With a one-day funding and settlement model, we are able to continue to increase sales and maintain strong relationships with our suppliers. This is long overdue, and we are very encouraged to see mainstream financial services supporting BC cannabis.”

Cannabis Training Canada, AGCO-approved alternative to CannSell

Written by Contributor on September 9, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Ontario, Retail.

Until now, cannabis retail staff in Ontario had to complete the CannSell program to be permitted to work in a cannabis retail store. Now, there are two options. Earlier this month, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) approved a new training program for cannabis retail staff in Ontario.

The new training provider is Cannabis Training Canada (CTC), and their course, CTC 1: Retail Certification Program, has been approved to meet the mandatory training requirements set out by the AGCO.

Cannabis Training Canada (CTC) was established at the start of cannabis legalization with a clear mission: to partner with both government bodies and private retailers to elevate the standard of cannabis education.

Since then, CTC has successfully collaborated with provincial governments in Nova Scotia (NSLC), British Columbia (BCLDB), the Government of Nunavut, and various private retailers nationwide.

Why choose CTC over CannSell?

Cannabis Training Canada offers a fresh and modern approach to cannabis retail training and delivers on affordability. At just $64.99 per participant, it is a more cost-effective option for retail staff compared to other programs, with many discounts available.

In addition to being more affordable, CTC’s platform is designed with the user in mind. The interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, so employees can focus on learning rather than wrestling with complicated technology and boring lesson structures. This user-friendly approach reduces the time it takes for staff to become certified and allows them to start contributing to their workplace more quickly.

Superior content for a changing industry

The cannabis industry is evolving rapidly, and so is the knowledge required to succeed in it. CTC recognizes this and has developed a curriculum that is not only comprehensive but also reflective of the latest industry trends and regulations. The CTC 1 program provides in-depth training on key topics such as product knowledge, compliance, responsible sales, and customer service. This ensures that retail staff are not just meeting the minimum requirements, but are also fully prepared to excel in their roles.

Moreover, CTC places a strong emphasis on responsible cannabis retailing, equipping employees with the tools they need to educate customers compliantly and promote safe consumption practices. This commitment to responsible retailing benefits customers and helps businesses build a positive reputation in their communities.

What this means for Ontario’s cannabis industry

With CTC now approved by the AGCO, cannabis retailers in Ontario have a new choice for staff training. As CTC continues to expand its presence in Ontario, the goal is to significantly alter the landscape of cannabis retail training, offering a more modern, affordable, and effective alternative to the existing options.

StratCann readers: use promo code CTC10 for 10% off courses until November 30, 2024.

Content sponsored by: Cannabis Training Canada

Week in Weed – September 7, 2024

Written by Staff on September 7, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This past week at StratCann, we shared our monthly cannabis industry jobs update and looked at the BCLDB’s most recent annual report.

Organigram closed its second round of BAT funding, Cronos was found to be trying to engage in “reverse hijacking” of a domain name, and Safari Flower exited creditor protection.

Also, the SQDC released its most recent quarterly report. BC’s Surrey wants cannabis store applications sent in by September 17, and Victoria’s Rifflandia will be hosting a cannabis space along with local retailers Seed & Stone and Songhees Cannabis.

In other cannabis news…

High Tide Inc. re-launched its Canna Cabana website for its flagship retail brand, providing an improved experience for its ELITE and Cabana Club members. The company also opened its 183rd Canna Cabana location, which is in Lucan, Ontario.

In a story our readers will recognize from last week’s Week in Weed, Post Media looked into a recent Alberta court case involving a man who was found to be impaired by cannabis following a Standardized Field Sobriety Test. The court rejected his argument that the evidence did not establish his impairment.

Delta 9 Biotech says the company has decided to wind down the operations of its distribution wing, Delta 9 Logistics, effective September 30, 2024. Notices have been sent to clients.

Shakir Tayabali is departing his role as the CEO of the Independent Retail Cannabis Collective (IRCC). Mandesh Dosanjh, Executive Chair, is stepping into the role of interim CEO while IRCC seeks a more permanent replacement.

Tamara Lovi has been appointed as new Chair of the Cannabis Council Of Canada (C3). Lovi has been a member of the Board for two years and has an extensive background in the pharmaceutical industry.

Deputy Minister Simon Kennedy is stepping down from his role at ISED on September 13. Mr. Kennedy oversaw Health Canada’s implementation of the government’s initiative to legalize and regulate cannabis, including passage of the Cannabis Act, and in his capacity at ISED, served as a valuable voice on the agency’s now-mostly-neglected cannabis file. Kennedy was named Deputy Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, effective September 3, 2019.

The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) is seeking a permanent full-time Reporting Analyst within our Regina Head Office, reporting to the Manager, Cannabis Policy and Analysis.

Avail Medical, a clinic that specializes in providing access to cannabis for medical purposes, announced Victoria’s first multidisciplinary clinic focused exclusively on veteran healthcare. The clinic will offer a wide range of exclusive products and services for veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces, including an “exploration into psychedelic-assisted therapy.”

Mark Johnson, a lawyer who ran for the Conservatives in Toronto in the 2021 federal election, penned a piece claiming that Canadian society has basically collapsed since legalization. The highly inaccurate article serves to highlight how many on that side of the aisle continue to look at this file through the lens of reefer madness, not supposed Conservative issues like streamlining regulations or lowering taxes. Earlier this year, Johnson also said legalization itself was “misguided”.

Kind Gardens held their sampling-focused event for budtenders in Edmonton on September 5.

An opinion piece in the Toronto Star looked at the number of cannabis stores closing in Canada’s largest city, calling for measures to help existing stores stay open and what to do with all the empty storefronts.

Humber College held a Become a Cannabis CEO event earlier this year at its Lakeshore Campus, aimed at empowering Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities to enter or advance their careers in the cannabis industry.

A recent study said that THC’s effects were significantly increased by CBD, rather than moderated by the,m as has been previously accepted as fact.

International cannabis news…

Politico took another look at the ongoing and slow evolution of Germany’s approach to cannabis legalization.

California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed emergency regulations aimed at reining in the manufacture and sale of illegal hemp products that contain intoxicating cannabinoids such as THC.

And finally, Donald Trump offered muted support for cannabis legalization in Florida, contradicting the state’s Republic governor Ron DeSantis. Trump also said there would need to be rules in place to “prohibit the use of it in public spaces, so we do not smell marijuana everywhere we go, like we do in many of the Democrat-run cities”—a real champion of legalization, clearly. :/

Rifflandia’s “Splifflandia” to include official cannabis consumption space this year

Written by David Brown on September 6, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Retail.

BC Cannabis retailers Seed & Stone and Songhees Cannabis are providing the cannabis space at Victoria’s Rifflandia this year, at the Matullia Lands in Rock Bay from September 13-15, 2024.

The retailer will provide a space for attendees of legal age to order cannabis to be delivered on-site, as well as a dedicated consumption area.

This is the second year the multi-stage outdoor music festival in downtown Victoria has allowed such a space. In 2023, the festival organizers worked with a different retailer to offer a similar space dubbed Splifflandia.

Morgan Sutherland, Head of Partnerships at Rifflandia Entertainment Co. says that building on last year’s inaugural cannabis area, this year’s Splifflandia will also include a dedicated consumption lounge in partnership with cannabis producers.

“Splifflandia at Rifflandia Festival is presented by Seed & Stone and Songhees Cannabis,” explains Sutherland. “Together, they bring a streamlined cannabis delivery system to the festival by using their online order platform and delivery service. In addition to our Splifflandia delivery point, the festival will this year feature a 19+ consumption lounge with activations from licensed producers.”

“Rifflandia is proud to be partnering with Seed & Stone and Songhees Cannabis as part of our commitment to supporting local, Indigenous-owned businesses,” she adds. “Not only does providing these services on-site create a more fulsome experience for festival attendees, but by making safe, regulated products available to folks, we are able to address concerns about safer supply and harm reduction at our event.”

Rifflandia’s location this year is on traditional lands belonging to the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations. The Songhees First Nation represents the Songhees or Lekwungen people, located around Victoria, British Columbia. The Nation operates Songhees Cannabis in Victoria in partnership with Seed & Stone and a second Victoria location under the Seed & Stone banner.

Vikram Sachdeva, founder and CEO of Seed & Stone, says he and his team are excited to have a chance to provide such a space for festival-goers, along with their longtime partners at the Songhees Nation.

“Our partnership with Songhees Nation holds deep significance for us at Seed & Stone,” says Sachdeva. “This collaboration allows us to honour and showcase Songhees culture and heritage at Rifflandia, bringing a unique and powerful aspect to the festival. It’s not just about the music and the products—it’s about celebrating community, heritage, and the journey of cannabis from stigma to acceptance.”

Rifflandia Festival is one of Vancouver Island’s oldest music festivals. The Matullia Lands overlook Rock Bay and upper Victoria Harbour.

“We are proud to host Rifflandia on the traditional lands of the Lekwungen peoples, including the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, at Matullia in Rock Bay,” said Songhees Chief Ron Sam in a comment provided to StratCann through Seed & Stone. “This year marks a historic moment with the first-ever cannabis consumption lounge, in partnership with our long-time partners, Seed & Stone, celebrating our culture and the progressive acceptance of cannabis at this event.”

Featured image provided by Rifflandia, taken Laura Harvey.

BC seeking feedback on cannabis consumption spaces for cafes, festivals, spas, and more

April 6, 2022

Cannabis consumption space at Calgary music festival grows into its third year

July 8, 2024

Cannabis consumption space returns to Edmonton Folk Festival

June 14, 2022

Safari Flower successfully exits creditor protection

Written by David Brown on September 6, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Ontario.

Although entering into creditor protection can sometimes mean the end of the road for a business, one cannabis company used the process to successfully restructure and grow their business.

Ontario’s Safari Flower Co. entered into CCAA protection on January 12 of this year, saying at the time that the company intended to use the restructuring process to effect a reverse vesting orders (RVO) transaction with one of its secured lenders that can be used as a way to inject cash into a company.

Then, on August 26, Safari successfully exited from creditor protection. The company’s CEO says Safari is now well positioned to continue to cultivate cannabis as GACP accredited, process cannabis flower under EU-GMP law, and export finished medical products directly to emerging markets abroad like Germany. Safari has already exported nearly one metric ton of cannabis.

“We have worked very hard to accelerate our positive earnings strategy post-CCAA and created value for our stakeholders by targeted product manufacturing for the German medical market and by focusing volume on very few customers whose core business and growth trajectory are synergistic to Safari’s,” says CEO Dr. Brigitte Simons in a company press release.

“This mindset has enabled us to use working capital carefully for the step-wise scale and velocity of high quality cannabis product entrants sold under successful brand partnerships, such as Enua Pharma GmbH. Safari Flower Co. also provides services to other Canadian cannabis producers who wish to sell their products to international distribution partners. The company has successfully exported approximately 940 kg of cannabis flower to Europe and Australia since January 2024.”

David Hyde with Hyde Advisory, assisted Safari Flower Co. through the restructuring process, says he and his team are “pleased to have played a part in the renewal of Safari Flower, having now emerged from CCAA with fresh funding and a clear path to business success. This is a far cry from where the business was only a year earlier.”

“Not all CCAA processes are the same, as we’ve learned from managing a number of them in the cannabis sector,” he adds. “If the underlying business is strong, a well-run Sale and Investment Solicitation (“SISP”) process can lead to the discovery of a buyer committed to leading the company out of CCAA and to new levels of success.”

The cannabis industry in Canada has experienced significant financial challenges. At least 72 cannabis companies filed for some form of creditor protection in 2023 according to listings by Insolvency Insider Canada, which focuses on the Canadian insolvency market. Several more have since filed for CCAA in 2024.

One of the most common filings is for the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), which allows insolvent companies to restructure their businesses and finances.

With proper planning, a company can take this step to avoid declaring bankruptcy, Dina Kovacevic, Editor at Insolvency Insider, told StratCannn earlier this year.

Typically, she explained, if a cannabis company is in trouble, it can either file for CCAA protection or a notice of intent to make a proposal, an “NOI” under the Banking and Insolvency Act. This is, ideally, a step taken to avoid being put into bankruptcy or receivership by a creditor or a company declaring bankruptcy themselves.

One of the most significant points Kovacevic highlighted was that distressed companies should ensure they take steps in advance if they see themselves running into long-term financial issues.

“If a company is facing financial issues and it wants to restructure, it doesn’t just want to go out of business, and perhaps it fears that its secured lender is going to put it into receivership. I’d say that it has several options. The first option is to try to work with its creditors and suppliers on an out-of-court restructuring plan. The second would be to file for CCAA protection and even in that type of situation, I would say that the company should be getting key creditors on board before the filing. You don’t want to surprise people.”

Organigram closes second round of funding from British American Tobacco

Written by Sarah Clark on September 3, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, International, Producers.

Organigram Holdings closed the second round of funding from its partner, British American Tobacco (BAT), on August 30.

This is the second of three rounds of funding from BT DE Investments Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of BAT. Plans for the partnership between British American Tobacco and Organigram were announced in late 2023, with an investment of nearly $125 million from BAT.

At the time, Organigram said most of the $124.6 million investment would be used to create a strategic investment pool named Jupiter, focusing on emerging cannabis opportunities, including geographic expansion.

The first round of funding closed on January 23, 2024. The third round of funding is expected in early 2025.

“With two tranches of the Jupiter pool now funded, combined with our strong balance sheet and targeted investment strategy, Organigram is well on its way to executing on its ambitious growth plan focusing on international, technological and product expansion,” said Paolo De Luca, Chief Strategy Officer of Organigram in a press release on Sept 3, 2024.

“Our inaugural Jupiter investment in Open Book Extracts marked our second investment in the U.S. market, and our first international investment in Sanity Group represents a significant first step in our ambitions to grow our footprint in the fast-growing German market.”

On June 24, Organigram announced a $21 million investment from its Jupiter strategic investment pool, giving it a minority stake in German cannabis company Sanity Group GmbH and, therefore, a foothold in the German market.

In March, Organigram announced a USD$2 million minority investment in Steady State LLC (dba Open Book Extracts or OBX) from the Jupiter fund. Based in North Carolina, OBX specializes in cannabinoid ingredient production and serves as a one-stop formulation and finished goods manufacturer.

In its most recent quarterly report in August, the New Brunswick-based cannabis company reported net revenue of $41.1 million for the third quarter of 2024 and net income of $2.8 million, compared to a loss of $213.5 million in the same reporting period in 2023.

Global tobacco giant ups investment in Canadian cannabis producer Organigram

November 6, 2023

Organigram announces new nanoemulsion technology in collaboration with British American Tobacco

August 7, 2024

Organigram receives final ruling from Health Canada: Jolts are an edible

March 22, 2024

Panel finds Cronos Group tried to “reverse hijack” domain name

Written by Staff on September 3, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News.

A panel investigating domain-name disputes has found that Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group tried to reverse hijack the domain name “CronosGroup.com”.

The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) decision comes following a complaint filed on behalf of Cronos Group, Inc. in June 2024. Legal counsel representing Cronos Group alleged that Mira Holdings, Inc., a professional domain name investor, had acquired the domain cronosgroup.com with the goal of charging the cannabis company a large amount to secure it.

In a letter in response to Cronos Group’s concerns, Mira Holdings had asked for $18,500 to transfer the domain to the cannabis company. In their complaint to the Canadian International Internet Dispute Resolution Centre (CIIDRC), Cronos Group Inc. sought to have the domain name transferred to their ownership.

Reverse domain name hijacking is when a company that is a rightful trademark owner tries to secure a domain name by making “cybersquatting” claims against a domain name’s owner through aggressive means.

Cronos Group argued that Mira Holdings secured the domain with the specific goal of selling it for an “excessive” amount. In response, Mira Holdings argued that many businesses commonly use the name Cronos and that they acquired it in an open public auction for USD$2,849, arguing that Cronos did not participate in the auction.

Despite Cronos Group’s concerns, the panel reviewing the complaint found that the cannabis company was unable to prove that Mira Holdings had acted in bad faith. Because of this, the panel dismissed the complaint, finding that it had been “brought in bad faith and constituted an abuse of the administrative proceeding.”

Cronos Group was not immediately available for comment.

Cannabis sales increased in BC in 2023-2024

Written by David Brown on September 3, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Government, Retail.

The BCLDB sold 135,348 kg (*Equiv) of cannabis in the year ended March 31, 2024, a 27% increase from the previous year.

In fiscal year 2023-2024, the provincial agency that oversees cannabis and alcohol warehousing, distribution, and sale brought in $3.9 billion in revenue, a 1.7% increase from the previous year, with lower liquor revenue somewhat offset by growth in cannabis sales.

The LDB’s cannabis revenue was $574.5 million, an 18.3% increase from the previous year that it attributes to new retail stores and an expanded product selection. Alcohol revenue was $3.4 billion, a 0.7% drop compared to the prior year, for a total of $3.94 billion in revenue and $1.15 billion in net income.

The LDB’s net income and contribution to the Government of BC was $1.1 billion, a 4.2% decrease compared to the previous year.

Dried flowers, pre-rolls, and extracts and concentrates accounted for 91.8% of LDB’s cannabis sales revenue. It sold 54.1 kg of flower, 24.8 kg worth of pre-rolls, 45.5 kg of extracts and concentrates (gram equivalent), and another 10.1 kg in all other categories.

The extracts and concentrates category saw the highest increase of 36.3% compared to 2022-2023, reflecting the growth in vapes and infused pre-rolls.

The BCLDB added 2,600 new products in 2023-2024, a 37% increase in registered cannabis products compared to the previous year.

The BC Cannabis Store also introduced an online cannabis knowledge training program for all employees in the most recent fiscal year. The stores reached $965 in sales per square foot of store.

The cannabis wholesale division says they established a dedicated area for quality control processes, improving order accuracy, and took steps to improve on-time delivery and order accuracy.

In August 2023, the BCCS completed a market research survey of 1,200 BC adult cannabis users to gain customer insights and refine customer service strategies.

Since launching in August 2022, the LDB says its cannabis direct delivery program has grown to include around 100 participating cultivators worth more than $13 million in direct sales in fiscal 2023/24.

The agency admits the program could be much bigger, and says it is “committed” to a review of its central distribution 15% mark-up, as well as of the direct delivery program and who is eligible.

In April 2023, the LDB made several changes for cannabis producers, like eliminating its requirement that producers maintain mandatory insurance coverage for product expenses, reducing the reporting requirement for producers using the direct delivery program from weekly to bi-weekly, and changing payment terms from 30 to 14 days.

[Editor’s note. This article initially reported total sales in grams, not kilograms. This has been corrected]

Cannabis Jobs Update – September 2024

Written by Staff on September 2, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, International.

The cannabis industry continues to have numerous opportunities available across Canada and internationally. Whether you’re looking for a role in production, management, retail, or finance, there are positions open for a variety of skill sets. Below is a list of some of the current job openings in the cannabis sector.

Adecco is actively hiring several Production Associates for a client in Smiths Falls, Ontario. This role is ideal for those looking to gain hands-on experience in cannabis production.

Canopy Growth has nine positions open across Ontario, Manitoba, and even Germany. These roles span various departments, providing opportunities for professionals with different skill sets.

After some financial restructuring earlier this year, BZAM is again on a hiring spree with 12 positions open in Ontario and BC.

High Tide has dozens of positions open in numerous locations across Canada, as well as for an Operations Manager in Berlin, Germany.

Fika Cannabis is hiring for several Fire and Flower locations in Canada, including one in Whitehorse, Yukon as well as at several Fika Cannabis stores in Canada.

Route 1 Sales Agency is on the lookout for a Sales Representative in Edmonton, while Aurora Cannabis is hiring across multiple categories such as Operations, QA and Supply Chain, Accounting and Finance, and Science and Innovation.

Decibel Cannabis Company is looking for a Financial Analyst in Calgary, AB, and Cronos Group is looking for people to fill several roles in Finance, Legal and Regulatory, Quality Assurance and Quality Control, Sales, R&D and more.

The Ontario Cannabis Store also has several current postings, including a Software Engineer, a Senior Finance Manager, a Financial Systems Manager, a Master Data Specialist, a Senior Manager, Business Architecture, and several other roles.

Auxly Group is hiring for several positions, such as Commercial Planning Analyst, Production Technician, Cultivation Assistant, and more.

One Plant Canna in Kingston, Ontario, is hiring a full-time Keyholder.

The BC LDB is looking for an Assistant Store Manager at its Langley, BC, Cannabis store.

BC is hiring for several cannabis-related positions, from a Wholesale Category Manager to BC Cannabis Store Managers to a Senior Investigator with its Community Safety Unit.

KJ’S Best Cannabis, a cannabis retailer in Mission, BC, is hiring an Inventory Control Supervisor.

AtlantiCann Medical Inc. is looking for a trimmer in Nova Scotia.

Sophia’s Garden (Artisan) Inc., a cannabis producer in Thunder Bay, ON, is hiring a Quality Assurance Manager.

Leaf Infusions is hiring a Production Supervisor at its processing facility in New Westminster, BC.

A cannabis producer in Montreal, Quebec, is looking for a VP of Operations to join their growing team.

Freedom Cannabis is hiring a Priva Technician at its facility in Acheson, AB.

Toke House retail store in Dryden, ON has an opening for a Cannabis Store Key Holder Position.

Les Entreprises C-Médical is hiring a Technicien culture de cannabis and a Journalier at its facility in Mirabel, QC.

Cannabis NB has around ten open positions it its stores.

Circle K is hiring a Part-Time Budtender in Paradise, Newfoundland.

And finally, in our September list, Truro Cannabis is looking for a Regional Sales Manager (Atlantic).

With so many positions available across Canada and internationally, now is a great time to explore new career opportunities within the cannabis industry whether you’re just starting out or looking to make a career change.

Week in Weed – August 31, 2024

Written by Staff on August 31, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, International.

This week at StratCann, we looked at the future of retail cannabis in Ontario and Quebec, and spoke with New Brunswick’s Crystal Cure on their decision to close up shop in hopes of a future reset.

Retailers and producers in BC are gearing up for Summer Sesh; Quebec opened its 100th SQDC store; Tokyo Smoke will close 29 locations as it seeks creditor protection; SNDL announced their successful bid to purchase Indiva; and Culture Kizos’ Coterie sour apple blunt was recalled from Alberta.

In finances, Entourage, Greenway, Nextleaf, Heritage, and MTL released their most recent financial reports.

In law enforcement news, New Brunswick confirmed follow-up raids at two unlicensed dispensaries, while police in Nova Scotia again raided several unlicensed cannabis shops.

This week’s profile series featured Vancouver’s Cannabis Training Canada e-learning platform and the recent AGCO approval for its Retail Certification Program.

In other Canadian cannabis news

Health Canada published amendments to the Cannabis Fees Order to simplify the annual regulatory fee exemption process if you sell cannabis exclusively for medical purposes.

A Vancouver Island University alum has helped lead research in developing a new, more cost-effective method for measuring cannabinoids in cannabis products.

CBC spoke with lawyer Matt Maurer and longtime cannabis activist Neev Tapiero about the current state of the cannabis industry.

High Tide’s Omar Khan penned a piece for Postmedia News arguing that provinces like Ontario, Alberta, and Manitoba are taking the lead with cannabis policy while Ottawa dithers.

Researchers in St. John’s looked at barriers to licensed private cannabis retailers in Canada based on an analysis of Canadian news media coverage.

The BC Supreme Court dismissed a petition from a prospective cannabis store that had sought a judicial review of a decision made by the Resort Municipality of Whistler not to issue the business a Temporary Use Permit (TUP). The petitioner unsuccessfully argued that the manner in which the TUP was granted was procedurally unfair and that the decision was substantively unreasonable.

An Alberta judge dismissed an application for judicial review of a person who was found to be impaired by cannabis following a Standardized Field Sobriety Test. He had unsuccessfully argued that the evidence did not establish his impairment.

A man in Quebec received a $15,000 fine after pleading guilty to a charge of trafficking in cannabis weighing more than 3 kg. The man was one of 31 people charged as part of a 2014 investigation named Project Nandou. Another 29 defendants in the case will return to court on September 4 for the continuation of the facilitation stage. One defendant has since passed away.

STORZ & BICKEL announced their first “Smokeless September Challenge” to educate consumers on the advantages of vaporization.

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies is calling for submissions to their Collection on Advances in cannabis and cannabinoid research.

Radio Canada says cannabis use among seniors is rising, and so are related ER visits, a story StratCann and others have covered in the past. As usual, the article and study it references fail to distinguish between when edibles became legal and when they began to enter the marketplace in any significant way.

Blast from the past: In cannabis news from this week in 2018, the media was already blaming a spike in cannabis overdoses on potent edibles, and poor public education.

International cannabis news

Incidents of cannabis smuggling by air passengers into the UK have been increasing significantly, with an estimated 15 tonnes seized so far this year, and 378 people arrested. This is already three times more cannabis seized than in all of 2023. More than half of those arrested in 2023 (71) had flown in from US airports, with 24 from Thailand, and 24 from Canada. Around half of all arrests (184) so far this year are related to cannabis that originated in Thailand, with 75 arrests related to cannabis originating from Canada, and 47 from the US. Sky News showed a video of one Canadian woman arrested there this past week.

California issued several cannabis product recalls for pesticide and microbial contamination.

The cannabis stock market responded negatively to news that the US DEA had pushed cannabis reclassification hearings to December. “We believe both candidates are likely to let rescheduling advance, though we have more confidence in Kamala Harris than in Donald Trump,” said one analyst.

Krautinvest covered recent comments from a spokesman for the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, saying that a pilot project to research the sale of cannabis in pharmacies could be coming at a future date.

And finally, people in the industry are hoping that the California governor will approve new proposals to allow people to smoke weed at some restaurants and buy it at cannabis farmers’ markets.

New Brunswick’s Crystal Cure to close up shop in hopes of a future reset

Written by David Brown on August 29, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, New Brunswick, Producers.

A cannabis producer behind one of a handful of farmgate stores in New Brunswick is closing its doors as it looks to reset its cannabis business from the ground up.

Crystal Cure Inc., a micro cannabis producer in Shediac Cape, New Brunswick, says it will cease its cannabis operations at the end of September, primarily due to delays in securing the financing needed for its planned expansion.

The company’s CEO, Jonathan Wilson, says this is likely not the end of the road for the company but a chance for them to reset their business, building out a new facility that better matches their needs and the realities of market demands.

“Eventually we knew that we were going to have to make a decision,” Wilson tells StratCann.

“We made this decision now before it gets to a point where we can’t meet commitments as we’ve seen happen to others. We are optimistic that this is not goodbye to the legal cannabis industry, but hopefully more of a see-you-soon.”
Jonathan Wilson, Crystal Cure

The company has been operating for several years inside a much larger facility that has remained underutilized. In late 2023, Crystal Cure made the decision to downgrade their licence from a standard to a micro, reflecting that it was already operating with a very small footprint.

The building the company has been operating is 63,000 sq. ft., built at a time when the company was looking at bold early market projections. However, due to this and problems with how the facility was constructed, Crystal Cure wasn’t able to fully utilize the space. Since 2019, the company has also been involved in legal proceedings concerning the construction of its original facility.

“We are still operating out of a tiny, temporary space that was only supposed to be in place for a year,” notes Wilson in a company press release. “However, the construction of our original facility was halted prematurely when the structure was rendered unusable, which now has to be dealt with in a court of law. This has added a lot of costs to a small operation, and also takes away our focus, time, and energy from what matters.”

Wilson adds, “When you combine the added pressure with the current financial ecosystem of the legal cannabis industry, it doesn’t give us enough to be able to survive, let alone generate enough profit from our operations to expand to meet demand. This is one example of the impacts of the short-sighted decisions made by policymakers across the country, impacts that they’ve flat out ignored at both the federal and provincial levels.”

Although the owners had hoped to maintain their current licence while they bring in new investors to build out a new purpose-built facility, Wilson says they had to finally make the tough decision to revoke their licence and shut down operations while they work towards that ultimate goal.

“We love the legal cannabis industry and we believe we will play a part in its future here in Canada,” he explains in a company press release. “However, as ironic as it is, we have to take a step back from it and focus elsewhere in order for us to survive long enough to secure the funding for our expansion. We have found a potential partner that believes in us and understands our vision. We will do whatever is necessary to hang on, even if it means ceasing our current operation and starting again. We are in this for the long-term.”

One thing that had kept the company going over the past year, giving them hope they could hold off this new decision to shut down entirely, was the success of their cannabis farmgate store, Le Backdoor, one of just six in New Brunswick and only a few more in all of Canada.

That’s the part I’m the saddest about,” Wilson tells StratCan. “The supporters of farmgate are the ones who have given us an extra couple of months. This summer has been incredible with new customers and tourists, and the feedback we get has helped let us know we are doing something right. It helped us go a little longer.”

“The part I’m going to miss the most is seeing customers every day.”

In the meantime, Crystal Cure will continue to have a foothold in the cannabis industry through its sister company, Gourmet Chef Packers, which sells living soil, worm castings and other agricultural inputs under the brand Adonis Growing Solutions. Clients include several other licensed cannabis producers.

“We have been working behind the scenes on a project across the parking lot, so to speak, focused on regenerative agriculture and many of the things we hold near and dear.” Wilson adds. “This will allow us to still stay connected to the industry we are so passionate about, while at the same time, being able to work in an exciting environment without the exorbitant excise taxes, fees, and over-regulation that have plagued producers from day one.”

“We managed to survive an additional year longer than we thought, but unfortunately it wasn’t long enough. We made this decision now before it gets to a point where we can’t meet commitments as we’ve seen happen to others. We are optimistic that this is not goodbye to the legal cannabis industry, but hopefully more of a see-you-soon.”

According to Wilson, consumers of Crystal Cures products will have a few more weeks of availability before their limited releases are no longer available.

SQDC opens new store outside Montreal with new product array

Written by David Brown on August 26, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Quebec, Retailers.

The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) opened its 100th cannabis store this week, located in a suburb just outside Montreal.

The newest store is in Richelieu, the first cannabis store in the small city of about 5-6,000 people.

“The Richelieu branch is part of our new desire to improve the customer experience,” says Alexander Bove, Director of Real Estate at the SQDC. “With a surface area of 2,600 square feet, the store has adopted a display by product category. The design promotes user-friendliness and several display islands have been added to the sales area to highlight the product offering. We have 100 reasons to be proud and thank you 100 times to our teams who are fully dedicated to developing the SQDC,”

“Displaying by product category is a new way to present cannabis products to our customers, including pre-rolls, oils, edibles and large formats and differs from displaying by species, such as sativa, indica and hybrid.”
Alexander Bove, SQDC

Although the province quickly revealed numerous SQDC stores in the first few years of legalization, they began shifting away from approving many more new stores in 2023, with a new focus on approving new products to attract consumers. The province also announced the closure of a store in Montreal earlier this year.

The SQDC says it plans to open about twenty branches over the next two years, including nine in total during the current fiscal year. The new Richelieu location is the third store of those nine that the SDQC has opened so far this year.

The new store will also take a new approach to displaying products.

“Displaying by product category is a new way to present cannabis products to our customers, including pre-rolls, oils, edibles and large formats and differs from displaying by species, such as sativa, indica and hybrid. In the sales area, certain categories such as concentrates and accessories are found in separate displays,” says SQDC Director of Operations Alban Troja.

The SQDC has stores in all regions of Quebec and says that more than 60% of cannabis purchases in the province come from their stores.

The SQDC contributed $258.8 million to Quebec in 2023. This is an increase from $232.7 in total revenue for Quebec in 2022-2023 with $94.9 million in net income, $77.8 million in the province’s share of excise taxes, and $50 million in QST.

The province says revenue from sales and tax are entirely paid to the Ministry of Finance of Quebec, and intended in particular for prevention and research in cannabis and the fight against misdeeds linked to the use of psychoactive substances. This claim, however, has recently come under scrutiny.

For the fiscal year ending March 30, 2024, the SQDC reports selling 122,478 kg of cannabis, an increase of 15% compared to the previous year (106,626 kg in 2022-2023). The majority of sales were dried flower (97,918 kg), while 24,560 kg were other cannabis products.

Image via SQDC.

OCS launches more detailed sales metrics for producers

Written by David Brown on August 23, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Producers, Retail.

Following an announcement in June, the OCS now confirms that starting August 23, it will begin providing more detailed wholesale metrics to cannabis producers.

The Ontario Cannabis Store says the more granular data is intended to assist suppliers’ sales and operations planning and lead to improved inventory availability, fulfilment, and delivery service levels for cannabis stores in the province. The changes will be integrated into the OCS’ existing Supplier Data Program.

In an announcement posted on the OCS’ B2B platform on June 25, the Crown corporation said it would be offering its cannabis producer-partners “greater visibility into the specific authorized stores that are purchasing their products through the OCS,” which includes the types of products each of these stores order from OCS each day at the SKU-level and the number of units ordered from OCS by each retailer, by SKU, each day.

These are changes many Canadian cannabis producers have been asking provincial cannabis agencies like the OCS to provide for some time. Such figures will allow producers to better understand what products are selling better in what parts of the province, providing an opportunity for more targeted sales measures. Alberta and BC have provided similar data programs for producers/suppliers.

The OCS offers two levels to its supplier data program. Level one allows OCS suppliers to access insight into their products’ sales performance across the province. A level two data subscription also provides access to more broad sales figures about other producer/supplier sales. Data for a product portfolio will be available for both Level 1 and 2 subscribers at no additional charge.

Suppliers will only receive detailed and specific SKU and store-level wholesale sales data for their own products, not competitors. This information will only come from the OCS, not from any retailer point-of-sale metrics or retailer inventory data. Suppliers also cannot provide the store-level wholesale sales information from OCS to anyone outside of their organization.

Providing suppliers with this sales data will also build upon the OCS’ Flow Through distribution channel, ensuring suppliers can better forecast sales demands. Flow Through allows retailers to order products the OCS does not typically carry in the world’s largest cannabis distribution warehouse.

“Data scraping” concerns some Ontario cannabis retailers

February 9, 2023

OCS announces first round of Social Impact Fund partnerships

November 28, 2023

OCS continues to grow, with nearly $1.5 billion in wholesale sales in 2022-23

December 14, 2023

Retail cannabis sales continue to cool off in Canada

Written by David Brown on August 23, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Government, Retail.

Retail cannabis sales continue to cool off in Canada after nearly five years of growth, with sales in April hitting a year-over-year low, with $518 million in sales compared to $525 million in sales in April 2023.

The newest figures from Statistics Canada show seven of the past ten months with month-over-month declines from a peak of $564 million in August 2023. While sales surged significantly in the first several years of legalization, in the past year, that momentum has begun to wane.

Statistics Canada does periodically update their previous monthly figures as new data comes in. While the data quality for most months is considered excellent, the most recent four months are considered very good or good.

The newest wholesale cannabis sales figures from Stats Canada show a similar trend, with wholesale sales dropping off from a peak of $597 million in February 2024, followed by now four months of declines.

As of August 13, there were 3,722 licensed cannabis retail stores in Canada.

British Columbia: 523 public and private stores listed as “active”
Alberta: 709
Saskatchewan: 190
Manitoba: 209
Ontario: 1,822
Quebec: 99
New Brunswick: 27 public stores, plus nine private stores and six farmgate stores, for a total of 42
Nova Scotia: 50
PEI: 5, up from 4 in January (+1)
Newfoundland and Labrador: 59
Northwest Territories: 6 brick-and-mortar locations, plus 1 private online store
Nunavut: 2, up from 1 in March (+1)
Yukon: 6

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Cannabis sales continue to increase in Nova Scotia

Written by David Brown on August 21, 2024. Posted in Business, Cannabis News, Financials, Government, Nova Scotia, Retail.

Nova Scotia brought in $31.2 million in cannabis sales in the three months ended June 30, 2024, a 7.3% increase compared to the previous year and an increase of $1 million from the previous quarter.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, which handles cannabis distribution and sales in the province, also added a new cannabis store in the most recent quarter, the fiftieth in the province in May in Shelburne. Sales of locally-produced cannabis declined slightly, by 1.4%, to $9.3 million, or a little under one third of all cannabis sales.

While the provincial agency reported a volume decline in beverage alcohol, the volume of cannabis sold increased in its first quarter of 2024.

“Expanding access to safe and legal cannabis continues to be a primary focus for us, and we continue to look for ways to combat the illicit cannabis market,” said Greg Hughes, president and CEO of NSLC. “We were pleased to add another cannabis store to our retail network this quarter.”

The average basket size for a cannabis purchase in the Bluenose province was $37, with retail customer transactions for cannabis increasing by 7.7% in the quarter. The average price per gram for cannabis decreased again in the province as well, by 2% to $5.90.

As a comparison, total spirit sales in the province in the same time period were $48.4 million; wine sales were $39 million, beer was $75.4 million, and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages were $28.5 million.

The NSLC says all profits go back to the provincial government to help fund “key public services.”

Nova Scotia sold $121 million worth of cannabis in 2023, an 8.9% increase from the previous year. Sales of local Nova Scotia cannabis products accounted for $39.5 million, or 32.7% of all cannabis sales in 2023, a 17.9% increase from the previous year.

In the NSLC’s 2023 annual report released earlier this year, they said that 79% of Nova Scotians lived within 10 kilometres of a licensed cannabis store.

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Wholesale cannabis sales increase in BC while prices decline

Written by David Brown on August 19, 2024. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Producers, Retail.

The amount of cannabis sold in BC continues to increase while the price continues to decrease, according to the LDB’s newest quarterly report.

The provincial cannabis wholesaler’s Q1 2024 report shows 36,418,336 grams sold in April, May, and June 2024, and more than $140.5 million in wholesale sales. The former represents an 18.8% year-over-year increase from Q1 2023, while the latter is a 10.6% increase over the same period.

Grams sold and wholesale sales were also up from the previous quarter, a period that saw some of the first declines in the province since legalization.

The average price of a gram of cannabis continues to decline in BC as well, down 6.9% from Q1 2023 to $3.86, while the price of a gram of dried flower dropped 6.3% from Q1 2023 to just $3.19.

The number of retail stores in BC increased year-over-year, from 485 at the end of June 2023 to 505 at the end of June 2024, and up from 501 at the end of March. BC breaks down stores into four regions of the province: the lower mainland, the island, the interior, and the north. Three of these regions saw total store counts increase compared to the same period in 2023, while the interior showed its second quarter of declines, down two stores from Q1 2023 and one store from Q3 2023.

Sales of eighths of dried flower continue to decline in terms of grams sold, down 18.6% year-over-year, while 7-gram SKUs increased 64.2%, 14/15-gram SKUs increased 22.7%, and 28-gram offerings increased 13.8% from the same period in 2023.

Year-over-year variance in terms of units sold increased across all product categories except topicals and ingestible extracts, which declined by 11.6% and 32.4%, respectively. The decline in ingestible extracts was due to Health Canada pushing back on certain products within the category, such as Glitches and Jolts.

Within those categories, sales in units of capsules and pills increased 7.9% but were dragged down by a 20% decline in sales of oils and tinctures and a 72.5% decrease in ingestible extracts. Capsules and pills represented 50.1% of total units sold in this category, while oils and tinctures represented 33.5% and other ingestible extracts were 16.4%

In the topicals category, balms saw a 39.6% year-over-year increase, face masks, topical oils, and sprays saw a 299.3% increase, but all other categories saw double-digit declines.

The most significant growth in the vapes category continues to be disposables, with units sold increasing 69.4% year-over-year ($3.4 million in wholesale sales). Infused pre-rolls increased by 24.7% in terms of units sold compared to the same period in 2023, for a total of $18.6 million in wholesale sales. Infused pre-rolls were again the top-selling ingestible extract in Q1 2024 at 46.7% of all units sold, compared to cartridges at 37.7%.

Resin and rosin sales increased year-over-year by 50.9% in terms of units sold, while diamonds, wax, and crumble declined by 12.2%.

Direct delivery

Sales in BC’s direct delivery system, however—which allows some BC cannabis producers to ship products directly to retailers, bypassing the BC LDB’s central distribution warehouse—show an opposite trend, with prices increasing and sales declining.

The total grams sold through the program (617,359) declined 20.8% in Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023, while wholesale sales ($3 million) fell 18.9%. Meanwhile, the price of all cannabis sold through the program increased by 2.4% to $4.81 a gram, while the price of flower increased by 3.3% to $4.15.

Despite these year-over-year declines, the total grams sold in the program did increase slightly from the previous quarter by 14,834 grams. At the same time, wholesale sales remained relatively steady at about $3 million. The price of cannabis also declined slightly from the previous quarter, at $4.94 a gram for all cannabis and $4.42 a gram for dried flower.

The amount of beverages, pre-rolls, and topicals sold in the program continues to increase year-over-year compared to the previous quarter. Flower showed a slight increase in sales compared to the previous quarter but was down 8.5% year-over-year. The amount of cannabis plants sold through the program continues to increase, while seed sales show a slight year-over-year decrease but a quarterly increase. Plant sales are higher than seed sales by a significant margin.

Pre-rolls are the most commonly sold product in this category, followed by flower and inhalable extracts.

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