This week at StratCann, we looked at a new report that shows Cannabis sales are slowing while market shares are shifting, and another that says Canadians want to see the next federal government provide more support for Canada’s cannabis industry.
Manitoba announced that the province is increasing its wholesale markup on cannabis, and said that stores will soon be able to order seeds. Calgary is one step closer to allowing cannabis sales at events, and Surrey, BC, sent applications for nine retail stores back to the BC government for final approval.
Israel’s Commissioner for Trade Levies says Canadian cannabis is a “strategic risk” for the country.
We also examine how 420 has evolved in Canada since legalization, as well as some of the seeds and clones available in the legal market for the 2025 growing season.
In financial news, Tilray caused a stir by announcing a proposed reverse stock split, Avicanna reported record revenue for 2024, and a law firm announced a class action against Canopy Growth Corporation. The Monitor in Delta 9 CCAA process filed a discharge request, and the final payment was made to SNDL.
In law enforcement news, Brantford Police shut down an unlicensed cannabis store in Ontario.
In our Insight section, we featured the tenth instalment of The Good Weed Board from Marty at Overgrown Gardens. On our profile page, we ran a profile on DEALR Cannabis’ recent rebrand and looked at the company’s focus on market dominance.
In other cannabis news
PEI’s first cannabis trade show was held last weekend in Charlottetown. The media spoke with Alex Smith, CEO of Fresh Island Grown, about the event.
Community Savings Credit Union in BC are celebrating 4/20 by waiving fees for cannabis businesses and calling for a financial system that treats cannabis like any other legal industry. StratCann will have more on this next week, including a case study on A Little Bud, a BC-based cannabis retailer with multiple storefronts.
Beginning with the upcoming March reference month, data on the cannabis industry will be released as part of Statistics Canada’s Monthly Survey of Manufacturing.
The team at BC’s Coast Mountain Cannabis recently offered Pique Magazine a behind-the-scenes tour of their Pemberton facility. The article is available in Pique’s hardcopy publication only.
High Tide’s Omar Khan penned a piece in the Toronto Sun that argues cannabis can help Canada fight the trade war and crime by cracking down on the illicit market, raising THC limits for edibles, and softening marketing restrictions.
Local media shared a sponsored profile on The Woods Cannabis in Ontario’s Peel Region, highlighting the store’s focus on CBD-rich products.
Local media in BC shared a sponsored profile on the Imagine Cannabis chain of stores in the province.
The Vancouver Park Board says it’s again gearing up for “unpermitted” events on April 20, including on Sunset Beach, where thousands once gathered for an annual event.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. announced the availability of medical cannabis concentrates (inhalable resin cartridges) to patients in the United Kingdom (UK): the company’s first significant step in offering its proprietary cultivar-specific inhalable cannabis extracts in the UK market.
Village Farms International, Inc. announced that it has amended its Fresh Produce loan with Farm Credit Canada, which it states will result in improved terms and greater financial flexibility, aligning with the company’s strategic focus on expanding its cannabis businesses internationally.
Delta 9’s Monitor, in its CCAA proceedings, has filed its ninth report and submitted an application for discharge, which will be heard on April 23.
On April 9, the Kahnawà:ke Cannabis Control Board provided updates on 14 dispensary applications in the community.
A break-in occurred at CJ’s Cannabis & Wellness in Minnedosa, Manitoba. The owners are seeking assistance in locating the individual.
The East Algoma Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) detachment is seeking the public’s help identifying a person of interest related to a fraud investigation at an Elliot Lake cannabis store earlier this month.
Found among the more than 7 million contraband cigarettes seized from an overturned tractor-trailer by RCMP in Newfoundland and Labrador was a case of unlicensed cannabis pre-rolls labelled as Drizzle Factory Slims, featuring a Canadian THC logo.
A man accused of robbing a Cannabis NB store continues to delay his case.
Police are investigating a fire at The L’Nuk Trading Post, an unlicensed cannabis store in Riverview, NB.
The largest ever study investigating medical cannabis as a treatment for cancer, published this week in Frontiers in Oncology, found overwhelming scientific support for cannabis’s potential to treat cancer symptoms and potentially fight the course of the disease itself, reports the Guardian.
A new study says increase in adolescents’ cannabis use in Canada that were associated with cannabis legalization highlights the need for stricter policy measures to curb adolescents’ access to cannabis edibles and extracts and greater awareness among adolescents about harms of cannabis use.
International cannabis news
Israel’s Cannabis Magazine reported on some of the fallout from the most recent announcement from the country’s Minister of Economy on tariffs on Canadian cannabis.
And finally, for the third time, a bill, The STATES 2.0 Act, has been introduced in the US House of Representatives to end federal cannabis prohibition in states that have legalized it, while providing for a basic federal regulatory framework for cannabis products, reports Kyle Jaeger at Marijuana Moment. The legislation would amend the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in a way that would prohibit federal criminalization of people acting in compliance with state cannabis programs, as well as those operated by Indian tribes.
