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.
