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.
