This week at StratCann, we took an in-depth look at how many cannabis companies are drowning in paperwork and new research that suggests the effect of terpenes on cannabis aroma is overhyped.
Cannabis sales continue to grow across Canada, and BC’s most recent quarterly report tells a similar story, with consumers continuing to move from eighths to larger volume SKUs like 7, 14, and 28 grams.
BC’s Community Safety Unit has seized more than $38 million in illicit cannabis since 2019, and law enforcement in Ontario announced the seizure of thousands of plants at an alleged illicit grow.
Meanwhile, Health Canada still says cannabis intended to be consumed as food is not an extract, even as more products in this category appear and reappear on shelves.
In other cannabis news this past week…
A new online survey conducted by Research Co found that 64% of Canadians are in support of cannabis legalization. The survey also found that 53% of Canadians say they have never consumed cannabis in Canada. Of those who have used it, 4% say that all their cannabis products were purchased at a licensed retailer, while only 17% say they have never bought it from a licensed retailer.
The OPP published a five-year retrospective on legalization, referencing findings in the Minister of Health and the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Expert Panel’s legislative review of the Cannabis Act.
The Calgary Herald spoke with Alberta cannabis retailers bemoaning provincial red tape and regulatory fees with comments from Brooks Pries of Strathmore’s The Garden Cannabis Co, Blaine Emelson of Bud Supply, with nine locations in the province, and Omar Khan of High Tide, which has 78 retail stores in Alberta under its Canna Cabana brand.
The article also included a comment from the office of Dale Nally, minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, that said, “We want cannabis businesses to have the tools they need to succeed and grow, and we want Albertans to continue to be able to responsibly and safely enjoy the products and services they offer.”
Health Canada has also begun outreach to the industry on proposed guidance for microbial and chemical contaminant tolerance limits for cannabis products. The regulator is currently developing a guidance document to assist regulated parties in meeting this requirement. More info on this at StratCann soon.
Le Journal de Montreal reports that Uber Eats wants to deliver cannabis and related products for the SQDC based on a listing on the register of Quebec lobbyists. The article also mentions that the SQDC says its new warehouse will be operational in 2027.
Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. announced that it has been approved to supply recreational-use cannabis products to Cannabis NB for sale in New Brunswick. This is Delta 9’s ninth Canadian provincial and territorial supply approval after Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon Territory, and the Northwest Territories.
Cronos has released two new THCV-infused products, Spinach FEELZ Full Tilt THCV vape and gummy, into provincial markets.
Christina Lake Cannabis Corp in BC released its Q3 2023 report, posting a gross profit of $4 million and $495,000 in losses after expenses, attributing the decline in gross margin to a significant drop in the price of wholesale distillate, even as sales increase.
BC’s Human Rights Tribunal dismissed a complaint from a former Koppert Canada Ltd consultant who said she was constructively dismissed from her job after being in a cannabis farm gave her a “contact high” and symptoms stemming from a disability. The tribunal ruled that she had no reasonable prospect of success.
BC-based Community Savings Credit Union CEO Mike Schilling spoke to Business in Vancouver about his lobbying efforts in Ottawa as part of the Canadian Cannabis Council’s (C3) recent Grass on the Hill lobbying event, held October 16-18.
The Time Colonist in Victoria, BC, published an opinion piece focussed on “troubling” concerns relating to cannabis-related hospitalizations and claiming that cannabis use “rivals alcohol consumption as a leading cause of road-related accidents and fatalities,” a rather dubious claim.
Some councillors in Aurora, Ontario, want to put a cap on the number of stores in the city, keeping it to no more than the thirteen currently operating in the small city, saying the costs for things like city bylaws and law enforcement are too high for the city to bear.
Town staff in Caledon, Ontario, have been asked to report back in early 2024 on the feasibility of permitting cannabis retail stores in the city.
The Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear an appeal from three BC men facing extradition to the US over accusations they had tried to smuggle cannabis into the United States in hollowed-out logs almost 20 years ago.
A group calling itself Selkirk Innovates, led by cannabis advocates Tracey Harvey and Sarah Campbell, is seeking funding to create a cannabis tourism sector in BC’s Kootenay region and Cowichan Valley under the REDIP Economic Diversification stream.
A Kamloops man who was caught with more than a kilogram of illegal cannabis packaged for sale by the eighth, along with 94 grams of shatter, was given six months on house arrest.
One hundred and eighty-five kilograms of cannabis sent from Canada was intercepted by a dog named Maggie at the Dublin Airport.
US Cannabis news
In Colorado, policymakers are considering banning licensed cannabis businesses such as retailers, growers, and extractors from participating in unlicensed cannabis activities such as ticketed or money-oriented cannabis dinners and food pairings, movie screenings, art exhibitions, and other events where pot consumption is allowed.
