Lp,s are doomed!
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After ???? legalized cannabis, you'd think the national police service would have an interest in the over 2,000 kilograms of cannabis that was stolen from licensed producers.
You would be wrong. @Nat_Div_RCMP told me they have no such records, and can't answer questions. #cdnpoli
They are after the vibrant legacy market..
Yup, legacy is a little bit more criminal than stock market weed… lol
Cannabis Business Info Since 2011
Home / Cultivation
Canadian producers report 2,200 kilograms of lost or stolen cannabis since 2018
Bonno
March 7, 2023
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Chart showing numbers of cannabis theft or loss in Canada
An increasing amount of cannabis grown by licensed Canadian producers has been lost or stolen over the past five years, new data shared with Bonno shows.
Separate data provided by Health Canada, the department responsible for federal health policy, also revealed that thousands of instances of theft have been reported to various levels of police.
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However, the sum of the missing products – including 2,219 kilograms (4,870 pounds) of dried cannabis – is a small fraction relative to the amount of marijuana produced in Canada since recreational sales begin in 2018, which is more than 4.5 million kilograms.
In addition to the missing cannabis measured in kilograms, Health Canada also said more than 1,300 “units” and almost 200 “liters” of cannabis are unaccounted for.
A growing overall amount of lost or stolen cannabis could partly stem from an increasing amount of products being shipped around the country, according to one expert in the area of marijuana industry security.
“These incidents are becoming greater (in volume) but not more frequent,” said David Hyde, CEO of Hyde Advisory & Investments in Toronto.
Hyde noted that the number of federally licensed producers has risen “exponentially” since 2020, but the number of reported loss and theft incidents has actually declined substantially over the same time period.
“So the frequency, if anything, is probably down or maybe flat,” he said. “But the volume, the amount of cannabis that’s going missing, in my view, most of it is going missing in transit.
“I believe a lot of the sources of these losses, not all, but probably more than half, has a nexus to transit, whether it’s from the loading dock of the LP, whether it’s after the cannabis gets moving from A to B, whether it’s on the receiving end of the other party’s loading dock.”
A Health Canada spokesperson told Bonno via email that the agency is aware of 4,398 instances of lost or stolen cannabis that were reported to police services between 2018 and 2022.
Federal regulations require license holders to report loss or theft of cannabis to police within 24 hours.
The Health Canada spokesperson said the agency is not notified of the outcome of any subsequent police investigations.
A spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said via email the federal police service could not answer Bonno questions about the 4,000-plus instances of missing cannabis. The RCMP suggested contacting each police jurisdiction in the country.
What the data says
Health Canada said it categorizes the lost and stolen cannabis in a unit of measure most appropriate to the respective product’s class and form, listing the missing product either as units, kilograms or liters.
Dried cannabis, for instance, is measured in kilograms.
Aside from the 2,219 kilograms of dried cannabis, roughly 1,352 units of marijuana were reported as lost or stolen since 2018.
Packages of edibles are an example of what would be included in the units category.
Also, according to the aggregated Health Canada data, about 195 liters of cannabis products went missing, which might be anything from a beverage to an oil product.
Since 2018, 4,421 loss or theft reports for cannabis have been submitted by federal license holders to Health Canada.
Those submissions include the original report and any subsequent updates from the licensed producer, which indicates that the overall number of reports contains some double-counting of specific incidents.
In 2018, the first year of adult-use sales – but a period covering only 2½ months – LPs filed 199 reports of missing or stolen cannabis.
In the first full year, 2019, that jumped to 889 reports.
The number of reports has been falling since peaking in 2020 at 1,313 reports by licensed producers regarding lost or stolen cannabis.
There were 1,084 and 936 such reports in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
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New classes of cannabis entered the regulated industry in 2020, including cannabis edibles, extracts and topicals.
Despite the number of missing-product reports decreasing between 2020 and 2022, the amount of missing cannabis generally increased over the two-year period. It’s unclear why that happened.
In kilograms, the amount of cannabis missing rose from 10.55 in 2020 to 79.55 in 2021 and 2,127.47 in 2022.
In liters, the amount of cannabis missing rose from 23.01 in 2020 to 66.38 in 2021 and 100.31 in 2022.
The number of cannabis units to go missing, however, fell from 670 in 2020 to 506 in 2022.
More scrutiny on transit?
Hyde, the CEO of Hyde Advisory & Investments, suggested there might be a link between the missing cannabis in transit and the industry’s struggles in recent years.
He said industry difficulties are, to a degree, a cause of an uptick in transfers of cannabis from one LP to another, as companies find ways to be more cost-effective and utilize co-manufacturing deals.
“So that’s kind of the narrative that I see here. More LPs, more movements, ergo more thefts,” Hyde said.
To Hyde’s point, in late 2019, an entire shipment of cannabis produced by Concord, Ontario-based Aleafia Health was stolen from a third-party carrier’s facility while it was being transported to the provincial wholesaler.
That incident was reported to police, but the value of the stolen cannabis was not disclosed.
In a subsequent regulatory filing, the company said that “security of the product during transportation to and from the Company’s facilities is critical due to the nature of the product.
“A breach of security during transport could have material adverse effects on the Company’s business, financial condition and operating results of the Company.”
Hyde said there’s no requirement to have anyone from the respective LP travel with the cannabis, and it’s up to the producer to do due diligence on the transportation partner.
“And that’s a bit of a weak link,” he said.
“So, if you ask me, what could be improved, and what might be a solution here, when Health Canada is doing their audits and different things, (they) should be probing a bit more into transit, into the distribution of cannabis before it hits the provincial distributor, when it becomes a provincial issue.
“There should be more prescription around (transit), even if it’s a guidance document, even if there’s some guidelines or expectations made clear to the LPs they can’t take their eye off the ball just because they partnered with a contract provider.”
BMO: Profitability elusive for most ???? cannabis producers, despite robust sector growth, due to confluence of headwinds such as:
—punitive excise tax
—sizable margin to provincial distributors
—proliferation of cultivators
—challenges with growing high THC flower
—poor quality products
Bonno
05-03-2023
Canadian marijuana company Adastra gets permission to sell cocaine
British Columbia-based cannabis company Adastra Labs has been approved by Health Canada to possess, produce, sell and distribute cocaine, psilocybin and psilocin.
The dealer’s license allows the company to possess, produce, sell and distribute – for legal purposes only and not to consumers – up to 250 grams (8.8 ounces) of cocaine and to import and manufacture coca leaves to create synthetics.
Adastra can also possess, produce, sell and distribute up to 1,000 grams of psilocybin and psilocin.
Legacy is killing them all ready
Bloated corporation
Doomed rip-off stock market bunk weed.
My team Supra Research and Development conducted a study on products in BC Cannabis stores. 93% of the 46 products we tested were more than 15% less than label claim. For 1g packages it was worse. We tested 4 sets of 5 with same lot #, below is that data.
Bonno
Major Player on African Cannabis Markets in Free Fall
Bonno
05-03-2023
Share price of Labat Africa, flopped 67%. Why? And will more companies meet the same fate?
Though management vows to stage a recovery in 2023, the reasons for Labat’s collapse have raised alarms – as observers warn the company is doing too much; too fast.
Stock Drop
“It’s such a fall from grace. Though Labat Africa’s stock decline is sobering; the reasons can’t be singular,” says independent economist Carter Mavhiza, speculating that contrary to Labat’s management’s sunny outlook in 2023, the stock might decline even more, rather than recover.
Labat Africa’s stock took a catastrophic fall in 2022 and ended the year at 10 South African cents after debuting at 30 cents. The slide continues with the current stock price representing a 10% loss in January of 2023.
The fall is a remarkable reversal of fortunes for Labat Africa whose shares momentarily soared 16% in December 2021 after it announced that it has successfully listed on the Frankfurt Stocks Exchange in Germany.
Market Maturity
The South African financial and equities market is not yet ready for cannabis, Labat Africa’s CEO Van Rooyen told reporters.. Van Rooyen says his predicament is not unique and cited Cilo Cybn, the colorful South African cannabis startup that flopped massively in November 2022 when it ran a special acquisition purpose vehicle (SPAC) drive to raise ZAR 2bn ($115mn).
Shareholders proposed to buy just ZAR 20,5Mn ($1,18mn) of shares in the proposed SPAC and Cilo Cybn ended up refunding investors their contributions after failing to list the SPAC on the Johannesburg Stocks Exchange. “It is in the company’s best interest to focus on its growth initiatives and postpone listings to a later date,” Gabriel Theron, the CEO of Cilo Cybn, said in a statement issued in November 2022.
“I sympathize with Labat and Cilo Cybn on these financial struggles,”
“The law around cannabis in South Africa is still fuzzy. Police are still aggressive in shutting down the greenhouse. Investors, therefore, balk at throwing massive amounts of money into the sector.”
Too fast; too much
Other observers say Labat Africa has itself for investors developing cold feet towards its prospects and its shares ultimately struggling.
“It has bought too many companies on a spree; Labat Africa can’t define itself whether it is a medical cannabis cultivator, processor, or exporter. It wants it all and spreads itself widely,” Dikeledi Matla chairperson of the Soweto Cannabis Alliance Forum, a South African lobby for Black cannabis cultivators, says, arguing that multinational cannabis corporations like Labat Africa are monopolizing the cannabis market in South Africa and dwarfing out small upstart entrepreneurs like him. Matla was referring to Labat Africa’s aggressive operations which have seen in March 2022 acquired 80% of stockholding in Sweet Waters, a specialist medical cannabis cultivator along South Africa’s east coast; buying 70% ownership in Zarenka Group, a Lesotho cannabis manufacturer in 2019; buying Leaf Botanicals, another grower in 2021, etc.
“Labat Africa doesn’t want to grow organically. It wants to sprint by mergers and acquisitions. At some point, shareholders begin to fear you don’t have the management and resources to manage all those disparate acquisitions – and once that fear grows, your shares flop,” Matla says.
Over-confident?
Labat Africa says the future of its operations is bright and cites that its Sweet Waters subsidiary has already bagged deals to supply 200kg a month of medical cannabis flower to Switzerland; supplying 200kg of medical cannabis to Australia per year in 2023; plans to launch a pharmaceutical sales, marketing, and distribution business in Germany in 2023; and rolling out more Cannafrica stores in South Africa in 2023 so that there is a total of 10 stores by June 2024.
“It’s brilliant, it’s bold and it’s risky,” economist Carter Mavhiza says of Labat Africa’s aggressive expansion agenda.
“Labat Africa profits can soar if exports start to roll in huge volumes. Labat Africa’s widely spread operations can struggle; the stock may crash further and shake down with it investor confidence in Africa’s cannabis stocks”.
Labat Africa is a South African-owned investment holding company listed on the Johannesburg Stocks Exchange and the Frankfurt Stocks Exchange – and it says its management has made a ‘strategic’ decision to venture into the medical and wellness cannabis market in the next decade.
Zimbabwe Takes Hemp Cultivation to the Next Level
Bonno & Ray Mwareya
CANNABIS CULTURE – Zimbabwe raises THC limit in industrial hemp to 1%.
This is praiseworthy. It’s a bold move for such a small country like Zimbabwe. Not even the US whose various state have bewildering laws on cannabis has done it,” Rex Matonga, a private adviser to Chinese companies looking to enter Zimbabwe’s promising cannabis sector, said to Bonno during a recent interview.
Zimbabwe’s new peers like Malawi allow up 1% THC in legal hemp; Ecuador 1%; and Switzerland up to 1%.
Pushing the law
In a law bill proposed to be amended and published at Christmas in Zimbabwe’s parliament, industrial hemp is slated to be removed from the country’s list of dangerous drugs. The bill specifically reads:
By the insertion of the following definition, ‘Industrial hemp’ means the plant cannabis sativa L and any part of that plant, including the seed thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts and salts of isomers, whether growing or not with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than one per centum on a dry weight basis.
Hence this February, Zimbabwe authorities have just expanded the THC limit from 0.3% to 1% for industrial hemp.
This move far exceeds the limits of many countries – which limit the THC to very small percentages.
“Zimbabwe despite the tiny size of its economy is surprisingly a pacesetter on the African cannabis scene. In contrast, South Africa its neighbor and host of the largest cannabis investments in Africa, demand that CBD products can only be processed and hold no more than 0.001 % THC,” explained Matonga, then adviser.
Very liberal
This latest move makes Zimbabwe a very liberal cannabis/hemp jurisdiction, says Natalie Zhande, of the Domestic Cannabis Growers Alliance, an informal grouping that is lobbying the Zimbabwe government to make sure that any foreign investor who comes in to set up hemp processing plants must cede a tiny amount of equity to women groups. “We are excited by the THC limit upwards,” she says.
Zimbabwe was the second quickest nation in Africa to legalize cannabis in 2018, and its army, a powerful institution in the country’s affairs, quickly moved to secure sites for cultivation in partnership with outside firms. In addition, in July 2022,Zimbabwe allowed hemp to used as a complement in medical products dispensed in the country .
By being so open-minded Zimbabwe is wagering to race ahead of giants like South Africa in securing the regional industrial hemp investment money, says Rex Matonga, the advisor of companies coming into Zimbabwe to do business.
Last year, Cannabis Culture reported of worries in South Africa that confusing laws and regulations will allow nearby players like Zimbabwe and Lesotho to ghost in and take off a slice of hemp and cannabis investment money destined for South Africa.
“Zimbabwe has a military-controlled government and so laws on hemp get passed fast on a whim. It’s also interesting that the Zimbabwe army has a massive interest in acquiring a foothold in industrial hemp production,” says Dikeledi Matla, chairperson of the Soweto Cannabis Alliance Forum, a lobby for Indigenous growers in South Africa.
Necessity?
However, O’brien Nhachi, a Zimbabwe-born environmentalist and social scientist says Zimbabwe quick-footed move to make liberal laws on hemp and cannabis are partly born out of the realization that its golden goose, tobacco cultivation, is in decline.
“The early warning signs are there. Not just climate change but the global attitudes towards tobacco. Tobacco cultivation and exports are faltering, and Zimbabwe feels hemp cultivation must be established quick as a replacement,” Nhachi says.
In April last year, Cannabis Culture reported that Zimbabwe’s 145 000 tobacco farmers are reeling from a growing anti-tobacco sentiment in key buyer countries like New Zealand and the EU. Hence, out of necessity, the country is already making impressive forays into cannabis and looking to detach itself from tobacco.
“Zimbabwe’s tobacco agriculture is on borrowed time. Tobacco’s prospects are not promising. Innovation in hemp is a matter of existence,” agreed Matonga, the adviser.
UN censure?
However, Zimbabwe by increasing this THC limit may run into conflict with the UN’s 1961 international drug convention regime. Cannabis related products have for decades been included in the UN’s list of narcotic drugs though via a vote in 2020 decided to “delete cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention” though “These substances remain subject to all levels of control of the 1961 Convention.”
It is impossible to speculate how the UN will view Zimbabwe’s latest move on THC because, Zimbabwe by coding this THC increase into its domestic laws, it may well skirt around rebuke from the UN, Matonga argued.
“This is a catch-22 situation, but the UN will be careful not to overreach in a nation’s economic sovereignty because in future more UN member states too will surely increase their THC limit” says.
Last-known Californian in prison for federal cannabis charges released after
15 years
Bonno
MARCH 5, 2023
Medical marijuana has been legal in California for more than a quarter of a century, but the impact of the federal ban is still apparent all these years later. One Bay Area man is finally free after serving 15 years in prison for opening a licensed medical cannabis shop.
Luke Scarmazzo represents the end of an era. He is the last known Californian to be released from prison for a federal medical cannabis charge.
It's been just 20 days since Scarmazzo was released, and he's still adjusting to his life back in Modesto.
"I'm making a chicken salad lunch – something I didn't get to do a lot in prison so I'm, like, super taking advantage of it," Scarmazzo told CBS News Bay Area.
He crunches up Doritos to top his salad, a trick he picked up while serving nearly 15 years of a 22-year federal sentence.
In 2004 Scarmazzo and his business partner opened the first licensed medical cannabis store in the Central Valley.
"It was an uncertainty, it was an unknown," Scarmazzo explained. "It was something that hadn't been done before so there were a lot of what-ifs. We knew we would get some pushback because the Central Valley tends to be more conservative but we couldn't imagine what ended up happening."
At first, he saw huge success in part due to local regulations that created a monopoly for his business. It quickly turned into a passion, helping people going through intense treatments ease their pains.
"There was some loose regulation but nothing that was exactly how you should operate so we took the route of 'Let's go above and beyond on regulation,'" Scarmazzo said. "But when the city realized what they had done they called the federal government."
Medicinal cannabis has been legal in California since 1996 and recreationally since 2018. But possession and distribution of cannabis — medicinal or not — remains illegal under federal law and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, just what Scarmazzo received.
"[I thought] this can't be true, like, how did we do everything right and follow all the state laws and do everything we were supposed to do and be found guilty of a charge that will put us away for 20-plus years?" said Scarmazzo.
Over the next 15 years he was transferred to several federal prisons across the country, an experience he describes as traumatic. But the worst part, he said, was being away from his daughter who is now 20 years old.
"It didn't feel like we were wrongly convicted but it felt like it was an injustice not only for the amount of time we received on a first-time drug offense," Scarmazzo recalled. "It had to be somebody and it might as well have been me."
Scarmazzo was considered for clemency under President Trump but was ultimately passed over just before President Biden's inauguration. Although Biden made a campaign promise to decriminalize cannabis, Scarmazzo says it's not enough. He's calling for it to be legalized federally.
"It's very important to me to make sure I get everyone incarcerated for cannabis out of prison," said Scarmazzo. "I don't want any more sons or daughters to lose a parent or son or daughter to a non-violent cannabis offense. It's not right, it's an injustice that continues to happen today."
Upon his release, the judge in Scarmazzo's case wrote a 29-page opinion that could set a significant precedent for cannabis offenders moving forward, which Scarmazzo says may be more impactful for others than a pardon would have been for himself.
Once legalized…
Canna naive folks to discover what dope heads knew all along…
Stock market bunk is doomed.
Legacy rules on quantity, quality and prices.
AAA at 1$/gram is killing it.
Don’t hold your breath on Germany canna freedom.
Doomed!
Rechtsgutachten: Holetschek: Legalisierung von Cannabis ist illegal
RECHTSGUTACHTEN
Holetschek: Legalisierung von Cannabis ist illegal
Bayerns Gesundheitsminister Klaus Holetschek warnt vor den Folgen einer möglichen Legalisierung von Cannabis
Bayerns Gesundheitsminister Klaus Holetschek warnt vor den Folgen einer möglichen Legalisierung von Cannabis
Foto: Sven Hoppe/dpa
TEILEN
TWITTERN
SENDEN
Von: WOLFGANG RANFT
01.03.2023 - 12:49 Uhr
München – Deutliche Warnung vor dem öffentlichen Zugang zu Cannabis. Bayerns Gesundheitsminister Klaus Holetschek (58, CSU) hat ein Rechtsgutachten zur geplanten Legalisierung vorgelegt.
Holetschek: „Das Gutachten bestätigt meine Auffassung, dass die von der Berliner Ampel-Koalition geplante Legalisierung von Cannabis sowohl gegen das Völkerrecht als auch das Europarecht verstößt.“
Für die „Fastnacht in Franken“ hatten sich Holetschek (r.) und seine Frau Birgit als Hippies verkleidet, die gegen Drogen Werbung machen
Für die „Fastnacht in Franken“ hatten sich Holetschek (r.) und seine Frau Birgit als Hippies verkleidet, die gegen Drogen Werbung machen
Foto: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
Das Gutachten hat Professor Dr. Bernhard Wegener (58) von der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg erstellt. Er erklärt: „Die von der Bundesregierung geplante Cannabis-Legalisierung widerspricht völker- und europarechtlichen Vorgaben.“
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FREICHIPS UND VIELES MEHR
Kasino-Feeling in den eigenen vier Wänden und unterwegs
Kasino-Spiele sind beliebter denn je – wer mag denn auch nicht den Nervenkitzel, wenn die Walzen der Slot-Machines rollen?
ANZEIGE
Das Projekt der Bundesregierung verstoße vor allem gegen die Übereinkommen der Vereinten Nationen zur Drogenbekämpfung, meint Wegener: „Die UN-Drogenkontrollorgane bewerten eine umfassende Cannabis-Legalisierung der von der Bundesregierung geplanten Art in ständiger Entscheidungspraxis als vertragswidrigen Verstoß gegen die UN-Übereinkommen zur Drogenbekämpfung.“
Auch vor gesundheitlichen Folgen warnt Holetschek: „Ich kann nicht nachvollziehen, wie eine Freigabe von Cannabis zu ‚Genusszwecken‘ für junge Menschen ab 18 Jahren den Gesundheits- und Jugendschutz verbessern soll. Ich sage ganz klar: Ich lehne eine Cannabis-Legalisierung wegen der gravierenden gesundheitlichen Risiken dieser Droge entschieden ab.“
LESEN SIE AUCH
Teaser-Bild
KIPPT DER KIFF-PLAN NOCH?
Bayern lässt Cannabis-Legalisierung prüfen
Bayerns Gesundheitsminister (CSU) hat ein Rechtsgutachten in Auftrag gegeben.
Teaser-Bild
ECKPUNKTE ZUR CANNABIS-LEGALISIERUNG
Lauterbach will Kiffen erleichtern
Gesundheitsminister Lauterbach hat die Eckpunkte zur Cannabis-Legalisierung vorgelegt.
Möglichkeiten zu einer Verringerung der Kriminalität sieht er nicht. „Die Erfahrungen aus den USA oder Kanada zeigen, dass sich der Schwarzmarkt mit einer Legalisierung nicht austrocknen lässt. Der Schwarzmarkt existiert vielmehr weiter. Daneben stellen Probleme in der Marktregulierung, der Schmuggel und der Steuerbetrug den Staat vor unlösbare Probleme.“
Holetschek deutlich: „Cannabis zu legalisieren und auf Prävention zu pochen, ist wie Feuer zu legen und dann die Feuerwehr zu rufen. Das kann doch nicht der Ernst der Berliner Ampel-Koalition sein.“
Machiavellianism took control of the cannabis industry
Bonno
03-02-2023
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has effectively turned $1 billion of positive cash flow in the legacy cannabis market into $1 billion in losses, and on the way he has created another $1 billion of un-recyclable garbage waste. I call this “retrograde economics.” Not bad for a PM who used to be a math teacher. He has accomplished this by not curating an intuitive business roadmap, but rather a counterintuitive one.
What do I mean? For example water always flows downhill. That’s intuitive, everyone knows that. To make water flow uphill is counter-intuitive.
The first hurdle that the PM created for Canadians is supply-side economics. It is a term governments likes to use. It is lazy thinking. Understanding that there already was huge demand for cannabis, the Liberals only focused on how to create the buzz for legal weed. This drove his political “Green Rush” tactics and gave an illusion of prosperity and opportunity.
No sound business roadmap was proposed, just promises that resonated at the polls. They drove Trudeau’s success.
What Canadians really did not understand is that his high school economic policy blocked the major pharmacy groups, like Shoppers Drug Mart, London Drugs, and Rexall, which combined would have offered over 5,000 retail locations, seasoned supply chain management, and finance.
His government used Bill C-45 to kill the national chains, as it did not represent a large enough voting population. It was blatantly irresponsible, in my opinion, for the Government of Canada to completely bullshit their citizens and put our economic well-being at risk. The years of job losses and hundreds of millions of dollars of losses is the result. Crappy Growth has become the poster child of the PM’s wayward thinking.
Does anyone remember retired senator Art Eggleton, once the chairman of the standing senate committee on social affairs, science and technology? He was the point person making recommendations to the government on the Cannabis Act.
Eggleton is a very nice person and was previously the longest running mayor of the City of Toronto. I had a brisk email exchange and some phone calls pre-legalization with him that ended badly. I asked Eggleton why the legislation was silent on sustainability of packaging; that was my business focus.
Now this is not a quote, but my impression is that the need to hurry up on the implementation of cannabis reform meant no time for innovation, in fact, no time to consider sustainability that could have been drafted into Bill C-45.
What it also might have meant, now that I can see in retrospect, is that Canadian relations with China could be greatly improved as almost 100% of the packaging goods used for Canadian cannabis, are sourced there. What does that mean? It means our good money is being sent to China. Not good for Canadians, but great for a government that would one day need to borrow back those dollars.
Let’s thank the PM for a few few more gaffs. Originally, Bill C-45 pointed to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act established in 1970, that was sufficient for every consumer good that was sold in Canada. It is suffice to say that the act has adequately protected consumers. In the act, labels are to be “affixed” to the packages. That would include shrink-wrap labels that are widely in use.
If a shrink-wrap label is used, then it can be removed and disposed of. Today, there are an abundance of biodegradable shrink wraps, available. Amendments to Bill C-45 have removed this opportunity for Canadians and replaced it with a law that requires labels to be “stuck on” with an adhesive. Often these adhesives are not recyclable, that makes the packaging not recyclable.
Further, if there is a paper label stuck on a plastic package then even if the plastic is recyclable, then the result will have black carbon specs when the paper is heated. This re-made plastic may be good for railway ties or park benches, but surely it would never be suitable for consumer goods.
That means that almost 100% of packaging used for cannabis in Canada is non-recyclable and must go into landfill. Way to go Health Canada in protecting Canadians. The only people being protected are themselves and the Liberal government, headed by Trudeau. Note that legacy offering is recyclable.
One last item. Why is cannabis not selling well at retail. That should be a logical question to ask these days, after Canopy Growth dumped Tokyo Smoke, once the darling of Canadian cannabis retailing. Sorry to say retailing never fit the government’s supply-side economic model. “And the budget will balance itself” … who said that?
Machiavellianism took control of the Canadian cannabis industry and threw all “intuitive” business methods out. It created the unsustainable economic and social reality we are experiencing today in the Canadian cannabis marketplace.
Home / Canada
Cannabis producer Cronos Group ends year with $168.7 million loss
Bonno
February 28, 2023
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Canadian cannabis producer Cronos Group lost $78.9 million in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, bringing the company’s net loss for the year to $168.7 million.
The Toronto-based company on Tuesday reported that its net revenue grew 23% year-over-year to $91.9 million in 2022.
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Cronos’ revenue in the United States fell 48% in the same time period, to $5.2 million in 2022.
That was offset by sales growth in Canada and Israel.
The company’s net revenue in Canada grew 12% in 2022 over 2021 to $56.2 million.
In Israel, net revenue increased 128% over 2021 to $30.5 million in 2022.
Cronos said net revenue increased primarily because of higher cannabis extract sales in the Canadian adult-use market and higher flower sales in the Israeli medical marijuana market.
In the October-December quarter, Cronos saw its consolidated net revenue fall to $22.9 million, down 11% over the same quarter one year earlier.
Last year, Cronos said it executed “a strategic plan to realign the business around its brands, centralize functions and evaluate the company’s supply chain.”
“We exceeded our originally stated goal by saving $28.7 million in operating expenses in 2022, to right-size our cost structure to be more adaptable to the changing landscape we face globally in the cannabis industry,” CEO Mike Gorenstein said in a statement.
Cronos said it expects to save up to another $20 million in 2023, driven by sales and marketing, general and administrative as well as research and development.
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Cronos appointed James Holm as chief financial officer in November.
Cronos had $764.6 million in cash to burn at the end of the year.
Enough to survive a year or two.
Dope heads do not buy corporate bunk weed.
They know better.
Crappy Growth caters to losers.
Function of ignorance.
You are deep in red
Cannabis beverage consumer is more likely a non canna consumer.
Getting a non canna consumer to go to a dispensary is unlikely.
BONERIDE will never see the light…
Canna naive dude is all in…
In something he knows nothing about.??
Need more access such as lounges or supermarkets + price decreasing to help accelerate lp,s demise.
In 2021-2022 alone, ???? gov't cannabis revenue was $1.6 billion:
—$300 million profit for province-owned cannabis authorities
—$200 million in federal excise tax
—$600 million from provincial excise tax & other provincial or territorial revenue
—$500 million from retail sales tax
_. BONERIDE is in the RED
Knowledge is power sucker
Klein smells the heat and .@MattPMaurer, Chair of our Cannabis Law and Franchise Law Groups, was quoted by @mgretailer on Canopy Growth Corporation's plans to lay off 35 percent of its workforce: lnkd.in/gtq_Y-e6
Doomed?
Trudeau’s pal…
The timing is interesting. Mr Rosenberg was selected in summer 2022 to write the election threat report.
In September 2022 he was named chair of the panel reviewing the Cannabis Act; that review started 1 year late and was a source of consternation in the canna industry.
Is that why the rapport is so late?
Can you spell doomed?
Meanwhile Thailand is kicking.
They are no Martha/Klein here.
None needed.
A federal judge has issued a compassionate release order for Luke Scarmazzo, who was sentenced to more than 21 years in federal prison for operating a state-legal medical marijuana dispensary.
Bonno
24-02-2023
A California man who spent nearly 15 years in federal custody for operating a state-legal medical marijuana dispensary was released from prison last week following a years-long campaign by family and restorative justice advocates to secure his freedom. Luke Scarmazzo, who was dubbed California’s last cannabis prisoner by marijuana policy reform advocacy group CalNORML, was freed from federal custody on Feb. 23 in response to a compassionate release petition filed on his behalf in 2019.
In 2006, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided the medical dispensary Scarmazzo and his business partner Ricardo Montes were operating in compliance with Proposition 215, the 1996 ballot measure that legalized the medicinal use of cannabis in California. In May 2008, they were convicted for operating a continuing criminal enterprise. Scarmazzo was sentenced to 21 years and 10 months behind bars, while Montes received a 20-year sentence. On Jan. 5, 2011, a federal appeals court upheld the convictions of Scarmazzo and Montes, denying them a new trial.
“We followed California law to the letter,” Scarmazzo said about their convictions. “We paid our taxes. We went to work every day providing a benefit and service to the community. Yet in the end, we were made out to look like common criminals.”
In May 2017, Montes was granted clemency by President Barack Obama, but for some unknown reason, Scarmazzo was left in prison. He was disappointed once again when President Donald Trump left office in January 2019 without granting Scarmazzo a pardon as many advocates expected him to do.
Scarmazzo’s case has received considerable attention and many criminal justice advocates including Weldon Angelos, a former cannabis prisoner who was pardoned by Trump in 2020, had taken up the cause for clemency. The two had served at the same federal prison in Lompoc, California from 2010 until Angelos’ release, where he had helped write the clemency petitions for Scarmazzo and Montes. After Obama commuted Angelos’ sentence, the former prisoner continued the fight to secure Scarmazzo’s release through his nonprofit group The Weldon Project.
“Luke’s story is one of the most tragic stories perpetrated by our criminal justice system. He was following state law but treated as a drug kingpin by the federal system. But I’m finally relieved that he can go home to his family and have a chance at rebuilding his life after serving 14 years in prison,” Angelos said. “We’ve helped a lot of people, but this one is different. Luke is my friend and someone I’ve been fighting for since we were in prison together seven years ago. Now, Luke has the ability to join us in this fight to free those we have both left behind.”
Judge Weighs ‘Unique Confluence’ of Circumstances
In his order releasing Scarmazzo last week, United States District Judge Dale A. Drozd wrote that he had considered a “unique confluence” of circumstances before reaching his decision. The judge cited Scarmazzo’s good behavior while behind bars; his pursuit of educational opportunities; strong support from his family and the community, including job offers; and noted the disparity between the sentences served by Scarmazzo and Montes, among other factors.
“The court is persuaded that the granting of the requested relief is appropriate at this point and is supported by both extraordinary and compelling circumstances and consideration of the sentencing factors set forth” by federal law, the judge wrote.
The campaign to free Scarmazzo was spearheaded by Mission Green, a campaign by Angelos’ nonprofit Weldon Project dedicated to securing the release of all cannabis prisoners. Kyle Kazan, a Weldon Project board member and the CEO of California cannabis company Glass House Group, said that his company has pledged support for Scarmazzo to help ease the transition following his release. He also said the company would continue to advocate for a full pardon for Scarmazzo and called on President Joseph Biden to end the incarceration of all cannabis prisoners nationwide.
“While I think the release is an excellent sign that some judges understand how unjust the dichotomy in the law is, Luke needed a lawyer to make the argument on his behalf,” Kazan wrote in an email to Cannabis Now. “It would be a lot easier and represent the will of the majority of the American people for President Biden to live up to his promise and simply end the War on Cannabis. It would not require him to do any prisoner swaps but to simply sign 2,700 pardons. And Congress is derelict in their collective duty to continue to allow people to be sentenced to federal prison for this plant.”
Only days after his release, Scarmazzo also pledged to fight for those still serving time for cannabis-related convictions.
“After serving nearly 15 years in prison for operating a cannabis dispensary, I was granted my freedom. The feeling is surreal. We’ve worked toward this day for so long,” Scarmazzo wrote in a statement.
“This was a huge victory for my family, friends, community and the entire cannabis movement. I’ll take a moment to enjoy this, but make no mistake, there’s still much work to be done—my people need to be free—and that hard work begins now.”
Twins Study Busts Cannabis Gateway Theory
A new study has found that cannabis reform isn’t linked to substance abuse.
Bonno
24-02-2023
Legal access to recreational cannabis has no effect on increasing the probability of disorders using alcohol or illicit drugs, according to a recent study of twins.
In a recent report published by the journal Psychological Medicine, researchers observed data gathered from observing twins living in Colorado and Minnesota. They found no link to legal access to marijuana with the likelihood of developing substance abuse problems.
“Cannabis legalization was associated with no other adverse outcome in the co-twin design, including cannabis use disorder,” researchers found. “No risk factor significantly interacted with legalization status to predict any outcome.”
“We found mostly a lot of nothing, which I think is personally interesting,” lead researcher Stephanie Zellers added. “I think this is a case where we don’t find much is actually more interesting maybe than finding a bunch of results.”
The study also noted that residents living in legal cannabis states didn’t appear to show an increase in problems associated with mental health, relationships, work and finances.
“Recreational legalization was associated with increased cannabis use and decreased alcohol use disorder symptoms but wasn’t associated with other maladaptations,” researchers wrote. “These effects were maintained within twin pairs discordant for residence. “Moreover, vulnerabilities to cannabis use were not exacerbated by the legal cannabis environment.”
Access to Legal Market
Zellers and her research team observed 240 pairs of twins where one lives in the legal state of Colorado while the other lives in Minnesota, where cannabis remains prohibited. Now aged 24 to 49, the participants have provided data on their personal use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and several illicit drugs, as well as measures of “psychosocial health” since adolescence.
“This co-twin design automatically controls for a wide range of variables, including age, social background, early home life and even genetic inheritance” that can influence health outcomes, said co-researcher John Hewitt, professor of psychology and neuroscience at CU Boulder. “If the association holds up, it provides strong evidence that the environment, in this case legalization, is having an impact.”
“There’s lots of things that could explain why one person is behaving one way or why people of one state behave one way compared to another,” Zellers said. “But with twins, we were able to rule out so many of those alternatives—not everything, but a lot of them.”
The recent study acted as a follow-up to prior research that found an increase in adult cannabis use where states have allowed recreational use. Despite the rise in use, however, the team found no relationship to a spike in cannabis abuse or addiction.
“Obviously the cannabis use increases, but we didn’t see an increase in cannabis-use disorder, which is a little surprising,” Zellers said. “We didn’t really see changes in how much people were drinking or using tobacco. No large personality or workplace or IQ differences or anything like that.”
But while cannabis use increased in legal situations, twins living in such areas were also less likely to drive drunk or develop alcohol use disorders.
“You’re combining drinking with something that could be physically unsafe,” Zellers said. “The residents of legal states do that less, which is interesting and maybe something a little unexpected.”
Disproving the Cannabis Gateway Theory
The findings also reject the gateway drug theory that using marijuana only leads to using stronger substances.
“We asked in the last 12 months have you tried or used heroin, prescription opiates, cocaine, methamphetamine, hallucinogens—kind of the whole 11 or 12 categories of illicit drugs,” Zellers said. “And there’s no difference there. People living in a state with legal cannabis, they’re not necessarily transitioning on to more illicit drugs.”
The results are quite promising but are far from an absolute conclusion. The study does have several limitations, as it focuses on adults, and few of whom consider themselves as heavy users.
“Our sample is an adult community sample broadly characterized by low levels of substance use and psychosocial dysfunction,” the researchers wrote. “This limits our ability to generalize relationships between legalization, outcomes and risk factors for the individuals at greatest risk.”
Plane is late? Catching up on d.d.
Cannabis Business
'The cards aren't stacked evenly': Rising number of Alberta cannabis retailers are calling it quits
Last year alone, 68 cannabis retailers cancelled or didn't renew their licenses. Just 19 stores did the same in 2021.
Bonno
23-02-2023
6747 Comments
The obstacles in operating cannabis stores in Alberta is leading to many retailers to quit the business, industry insiders say. PHOTO BY LARRY WONG /Postmedia
Increasing numbers of cannabis retailers in Alberta are getting out of the business, a testament to the many obstacles faced by the fledgling industry, say those involved in it.
Tracking
Last year, 68 retailers either cancelled their licence or chose not to renew it — far more than the 19 recorded in 2021, according to Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC).
As of Feb. 15, there were eight operators who made those decisions, putting the number on track for this year at 65.
“AGLC does not track the reason(s) why a licence was cancelled or not renewed,” the regulator said in an email.
But retailers who’ve struggled to stay in business 4½ years after recreational pot was legalized say there are many reasons for those accelerating numbers.
“While the Canadian government created the green rush, the platform has been a five-year race to the bottom,” said Karen Barry, owner of Calgary’s Beltline Cannabis.
Oversaturated market and industry kickbacks crushing smaller retailers.
One lingering factor is maximum THC limits in products like edibles put legal operators at a disadvantage with the black market, which still controls about 80 per cent of sales.
Barry said financial institutions have also recently begun levying massive banking fees on cannabis retailers to the tune of more than $1,000 a month.
“They’ve just determined that after more than four years, cannabis is high risk,” said Barry, adding the fact she owns her store’s property makes her business more viable than those that pay rent.
At the same time, the number of cannabis retailers licensed in Alberta has grown.
Barry and some of her competitors say there’s over-saturation in the market, which makes it difficult to survive.
Albertans can expect to see “more attrition this year” as five-year leases come to term and financial pressures continue to weigh.
An open secret in the industry are kickbacks paid by larger retailers to producers in exchange for filling their shelves with their products — a widespread practice not legal in Alberta, said Ryan Roch, owner of Lakeside Cannabis.
The payments allow those retailers to lower their prices which squeezes their competitors, he said.
“They’re able to offset their lower margins — it’s been very predatory … it’s very difficult for (smaller) retailers,” said Roch.
“At the same time, there’s a lot of people who’ve gotten into the business who got into the wrong locations — they had a passion but not a business acumen, and you need both.”
He said a ban on direct delivery has also been a disadvantage for legal operators.
Calgary-based cannabis producer SNDL trims nearly 100 jobs
Another challenge facing cannabis shops: strict limits promoting the products they sell or even their shops, obstacles not shared by the liquor sector, they say.
“It’s very, very difficult to let people know we even exist … the cards aren’t stacked evenly,” said Roch.
The store owner said his focus on adapting to market saturation, predatory pricing and other factors has allowed his business to thrive — something not easy to achieve.
“It’s a tough business to be in right now,” he said.
‘It’s not a model that’s providing any sustainability’
On Wednesday, a group of licensed cannabis producers told reporters in Ottawa their industry isn’t sustainable in the face of crippling federal excise taxes and regulatory hurdles — the latter they say is borne from a stigma against their product.
They also said there’s been little to no effort by law enforcement to crack down on illicit operators who sell openly while not paying taxes. Mandatory sentence are gone, canna now accepted by majority.
Cannabis has a bright future. Stock Market Weed future is doomed.
Just wait for dudes and dudettes losing their jobs en masse… Huge depression coming folks. Empty stores? Yup.
About 200 stores closed last year in Ontario, with that number expected to rise in 2023, said Cannabis Council of Canada president George Smitherman.
“It’s not a model that’s providing any sustainability in the form of profitability,” said Smitherman.
The challenges producers face, they said, trickle down into the retail sector that they supply — a view Roch of Lakeside Cannabis says is true.
Features
A glimpse into my own personal cannabis consumer habits
Published on February 24, 2023 by David Wylie
Photo: David Wylie
Some of the recent purchases from a local private brick and mortar shop.
Write what you know, they say.
I know my weed buying habits, and since my data is being leaked, sold, and otherwise disseminated anyway, I figured I’d just freely share it.
I buy weed a few times a month, mostly at local private brick and mortar shops—though I admit to buying online and locally from the BC Cannabis Stores when I’m looking for a specific product that’s hard to find (usually oils).
I prefer to shop at stores that have a wide selection, as well as places where I know people.
My weed spending is on the high side, about as much as I spend on gas.
I’m not necessarily your average consumer because I buy pot to review it, so I’m rarely a repeat customer—especially with flower.
That said, I do gravitate to certain brands when it comes to drinks and edibles—partly because there aren’t that many and they come in waves.
I enjoy edibles and make them part of my routine. As a canna-dad, movie nights are a perfect time to munch on chocolate and gummies, along with the un-infused popcorn. I find the 10mg THC cap low for my tolerance, so I also use a base of THC oil so that I don’t have to eat $20-$30 worth of candy to feel the effect.
I would eventually like to see more artesian options… but I get that would require regulatory changes and we’re just not there yet.
When it comes to flower, I usually shop legacy craft.
I’m also a craft beer guy who logged hundreds of unique beers on the Untapped app.
I don’t shop based on the THC percentage, but might pick up something based on terpene percentages.
I like to buy flower that has buzz from other consumers. I’m also a sucker for a good story.
I don’t buy vapes very often, and it’s even more rare that I get concentrates.
As for my social habits, I’ve participated in a cannabis tour, as well as attended conferences and industry events. I don’t really socialize specifically around cannabis; though I would spend time at cannabis consumption spaces, especially coffee shops and music venues, if/when they’re a thing in BC.
I’m also the type of person who would bring their out-of-town relatives to farmgate locations.
Online, I enjoy interacting with the cannabis community and have connected with brands on Twitter and Instagram. I have reached out on occasion for customer service on social channels. Reddit is one of my main cannabis channels. I don’t buy weed because it won a popularity contest on Instagram (though I do sometimes avoid it for that reason).
Home / Cultivation
Indigenous cannabis entrepreneurs underrepresented in Canada, data suggests
Bonno
February 24, 2023
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Women, minority execs show few gains in U.S. cannabis industry, according to the latest data from Bonno Equity Report. Get your copy here.
Image of dried cannabis buds
Entrepreneurs in Indigenous communities are significantly underrepresented within Canada’s cultivation and retail marijuana industry, new data compiled by Bonno
Bonno also found that the country’s largest provinces by population – Ontario and Quebec – have not reached any government-to-government deals regarding cannabis regulation with First Nations since 2018, a potential factor for their general absence from the federally legal industry.
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Among the 755 unique cannabis corporations licensed by Canada’s federal government as of last year – mostly cultivators and processors – only six were located in an Indigenous community, or 0.8% of all licensees.
And among more than 3,300 provincially authorized recreational marijuana stores across the country, approximately 24 were situated on First Nations reserves at that time, or 0.7% of the retailers in Canada.
The new data gives credence to claims by some Indigenous leaders that First Nations communities in Canada have been excluded from the economic opportunities and public health benefits stemming from the legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana spelled out under Canada’s 2018 federal cannabis law.
“We talk about reconciliation, but it hasn’t happened yet. There was an opportunity with the cannabis legislation,” Darwin Douglas, CEO of All Nations told Bonno.
All Nations is one of the six federally licensed producers operating on a reserve.
Douglas said Indigenous participation is so low in the cannabis industry because meaningful consultation did not take place when the legislation was rolled out.
“The opportunity was to engage Indigenous people and nations, and consult with them on the legalization process, and understand how legalization and the building of this emerging cannabis industry was going to apply to Indigenous people,” he said.
“How the legislation would apply to Indigenous people on their title lands and territories was the opportunity to develop a system that works for everybody – the people of Canada, the federal and provincial governments, and the Indigenous nations and their jurisdictions.”
Delay denied
Before Canada legalized adult-use cannabis in 2018, the Senate’s Committee on Aboriginal Peoples requested the then-proposed bill be amended to address a lack of meaningful consultation with First Nations communities.
That committee’s report ultimately foretold many of the issues stalling First Nations participation in the industry today.
A request was made for a preferential licensing system for Indigenous-owned or -controlled entities, for instance, “to ensure that interested Indigenous communities have the appropriate tools to seize economic opportunities as they arise.”
The committee’s proposals were ultimately not accepted by the federal government.
Isadore Day, regional chief of Ontario for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), previously told Bonno that the federal government, provinces and territories “have not done anywhere near an effective job in engaging and considering us within the process.”
The AFN has said First Nations have inherent jurisdiction over economic development initiatives, both federally and provincially, and possess the authority to manage production, licensing and distribution of legalized cannabis.
“As it currently stands, (the federal Cannabis Act) makes no room for the inclusion of First Nations governments,” AFN noted before cannabis was legalized.
“The federal and provincial governments must recognize and respect First Nations sovereignty and jurisdiction over their reserves and traditional territories.”
At the time, AFN also called out the federal government for not including First Nations in its deal with provinces to share excise duty collected on the sale of cannabis.
“The lack of First Nations inclusion in the cannabis tax framework is a missed opportunity for the federal government to demonstrate its commitment to a nation-to-nation relationship that incorporates First Nations governments into the federation,” the organization said.
More recently, the Assembly called on the federal government to “recognize First Nations jurisdiction over cannabis and remove regulatory barriers that exclude First Nations from the marketplace.”
Jason Childs, associate professor of economics at the University of Regina, told Bonno that First Nations were excluded from the law, noting that the text of the law mentions “Indigenous” only once – and that’s regarding the four-year review process, which itself started a year late.
“The fact is, they were excluded. They were not mentioned in any meaningful way,” he said.
“It shines a light on the larger issue of Indigenous-federal government relations.”
Huge interest
Douglas, the CEO of All Nations, said there remains a huge amount of interest among other First Nations communities in regulating their own cannabis industries.
He said First Nations should have had a carve-out to regulate their own businesses.
“Any (First Nations communities) we’ve interacted with do want regulation, whether that’s done by their own laws and regulations, or whether they want to harmonize some of their jurisdiction with the federal and provincial governments,” he said.
Some Indigenous communities choose to go down a licensing path with stores on reserves, outside of provincial laws and regulations.
Potentially hundreds of stores have been established in this way, which may be compliant with the laws of their respective First Nations communities, but still fall outside the scope of Canada’s Cannabis Act and provincial control.
Douglas said cannabis producers outside the scope of the Cannabis Act miss out on advantages of being part of a fully regulated and nationally legal market.
Those advantages include access to:
Trade opportunities with other First Nations.
More traditional banking resources.
Sources of financing, including capital markets.
Larger markets outside the province and internationally.
“I think it comes down to being able to participate in a larger industry, here within our country and internationally,” the All Nations CEO said.
“Having a federal license allows the business and nation to participate in the greater economics of Canada and the world, so we can export product, we can get a bank account at some of the major banks, and insurance.
“(Being licensed) also allows Indigenous communities to uphold the health and safety standards for the production and distribution of safe (cannabis) products,” he said.
Support needed
Douglas said the federal government offers helpful support to entrepreneurs interested in participating in the fully regulated industry.
One such service is Health Canada’s Navigator program, which provides assistance to “Indigenous affiliated” prospective licensed producers.
“It has given Indigenous businesses some support with the application process to enter the industry,” Douglas said of Navigator.
“I think the Navigator program helped, because it was a definite point of contact that helped navigate the system. It was useful.”
He said government could be doing more.
“I think there’s a lot of room to provide more support for Indigenous entrepreneurs and nations who want to enter this industry,” he said.
In Canada, the federal government regulates cannabis production while provinces manage retail distribution.
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Bonno reached out to the provincial governments to find out what they’re doing to include First Nations in the public health benefits and economic opportunities of cannabis regulation.
British Columbia
British Columbia’s cannabis law gives the province legal footing to enter into agreements with Indigenous nations with respect to cannabis regulation.
The province has entered into six government-to-government cannabis agreements, including with Shxwhá:y Village near the city of Chilliwack – where Douglas’ All Nations company is located – and Williams Lake First Nation, 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Prince George.
Among almost 500 provincially approved legal cannabis stores in British Columbia, only about a dozen are on reserve land.
However, the fact that the province has Section 119 in its law and has entered into agreements with First Nations puts B.C. near the forefront in facilitating Indigenous economic participation in the burgeoning industry.
“B.C. is actively working with the First Nations Leadership Council and First Nation governments to address their cannabis interests and support the development of a strong, diverse and safe legal cannabis sector that is inclusive of Indigenous peoples,” a provincial spokesperson told Bonno.
“These (government-to-government) agreements reflect B.C.’s commitment to reconciliation, economic self-determination for Indigenous peoples and their full participation in the cannabis sector.”
B.C. also amended licensing regulations to allow licensed retail stores to ship products across the province, which could “increase access to regulated cannabis in remote communities, including First Nations communities.”
The province also operates the Indigenous Shelf Space Program, which highlights products in stores from Indigenous producers.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan has also made efforts to include First Nations in the public health benefits and economic opportunities of cannabis legalization.
In December, the province proposed amendments to the Cannabis Control Act to allow First Nations to enter into an agreement with the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority to establish their own marijuana regulatory authority that could grant retail permits on reserve.
Once established, businesses would be able to apply for a cannabis permit directly from the First Nation regulatory authority, rather than the authority run by the province.
Currently, there are no fully legal cannabis stores on any reserves in Saskatchewan, as the amendment is not yet in effect,
“The government of Saskatchewan shares with First Nations the goals of ensuring that cannabis is supplied safely and legally and of protecting minors and other vulnerable individuals in our communities,” a provincial spokesperson told Bonno.
The province says the regulatory change will:
Serve to further undermine the illicit market.
Ensure that all Saskatchewan residents will have access to safe and legal cannabis products “by giving businesses operating under recognized First Nations regulatory frameworks access to federally regulated cannabis products.”
Quebec
Quebec operates a government monopoly on regulated cannabis stores, meaning only the province has the ability to open a “legal” store.
Quebec has opened no stores in Indigenous communities.
“As with any type of retail business, members of First Nations communities always have the option of shopping (online) at the SQDC (Société québécoise du cannabis) if they so desire,” a spokesperson for the province told Bonno via email.
Like British Columbia’s cannabis law, Quebec’s law grants it the ability to enter into an agreement with First Nations communities whereby different regulatory provisions would apply to the community’s territory.
Quebec has entered into no such agreements.
Ontario
Ontario regulators have authorized only seven cannabis stores on First Nations reserves out of more than 1,700 stores in the province.
About 15 more are in the licensing pipeline.
The low level of access to a regulated supply of cannabis might be, in part, because the province has achieved no government-to-government deals with First Nations regarding marijuana regulation.
Nonetheless, a spokesperson for the province’s Ministry of the Attorney General said that “the provincial government remains committed to continued engagement with First Nations interested in developing their own approaches to cannabis to identify how the government can best support efforts to promote public safety and legal access to cannabis on First Nation reserves.”
The spokesperson added that Ontario has waived and, in some cases, reimbursed on-reserve cannabis licensing fees charged by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) “to support collaboration between the province and First Nations governments with respect to the regulation of cannabis on reserve.”
“Ontario has and will continue to engage with First Nations communities and organizations to discuss interests, perspectives and concerns, and to consider opportunities for collaboration with respect to cannabis regulation.”
In 2019, Ontario amended Ontario Regulation 468/18 to allow for the authorization of up to 26 stores on First Nations reserves.
It’s unclear why only seven stores have been opened.
Eastern Canada
In the Eastern Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, there are only two fully “legal” cannabis stores in First Nations communities.
Nova Scotia has 45 stores across the province, and one of those in the First Nations community of Eskasoni.
A spokesperson for the Nova Scotia government said the “expansion of our (store) network supports improved access to legal cannabis in all communities across Nova Scotia, including First Nations communities due to the proximity of our stores.
“We also provide home delivery of cannabis across the entire province, including First Nations communities.”
Nova Scotia doesn’t appear to have entered into any government-to-government deals with Indigenous communities regarding cannabis.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the only other province east of Ontario that has any fully “legal” cannabis stores on a reserve.
The province would not say what it’s doing to facilitate access to safe, legal recreational cannabis in Indigenous communities.
The provinces of PEI and Manitoba did not reply to Bonno queries regarding the regulation of cannabis on First Nations lands and any economic opportunities and public health benefits afforded to their respective communities.
A spokesperson for the Alberta government said that, among the province’s 750 stores, just three are in First Nations communities.
The province would not answer questions about expanding legal access to a regulated supply of recreational cannabis products in Indigenous communities, nor were questions answered about economic opportunities.
Alberta directed Bonno’s queries to the federal government, even though the federal government does not oversee cannabis retail regulation.
Home / Manufacturing
California’s annual cannabis sales fell in 2022 for the first time since adult-use
Bonno
February 23, 2023
Annual cannabis sales in California declined in 2022 for the first time since the state launched its adult-use market five years ago, according to state data analyzed by Bonno.
Retailers generated just over $5.3 billion in taxable sales of recreational and medical marijuana last year, down 8.6% from roughly $5.8 billion in 2021, according to the latest statistics released by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
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Taxable sales in the fourth quarter dipped to about $1.3 billion – the third straight quarterly decline – down nearly 12% from the same period a year ago.
Depressed wholesale prices, which have made products cheaper for consumers, and the continued lack of retail outlets across wide swaths of the state have been two big drivers of this trend, according to California cannabis industry consultant Hirsh Jain.
“California’s ‘dual-licensing’ system has made it very difficult for new dispensaries to open in the years since adult-use sales began,” said Jain, the principal of Los Angeles-based Ananda Strategy.
Under California rules, cannabis businesses must obtain local authorization from the city and/or the county in which they operate before they can apply for a state license.
This system has caused major delays in issuing annual licenses since the launch of adult-use sales in 2018.
Those delays continue to plague operators throughout California, including Mendocino County.
Marijuana growers there are asking state regulators to intervene because the local government has failed to “establish a process capable of moving good-faith cannabis operators towards state annual licensure,” the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance claimed in a Feb. 8 letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Department of Cannabis Control Director Nicole Elliott.
“This has artificially limited the size of the state’s legal cannabis market, causing it to prematurely plateau and now regress,” Jain added.
The state’s illicit market, which some industry insiders estimate is double the size of the regulated industry, has also played a role in stumping sales at licensed stores, a trend that materialized during the medical marijuana era, years before California voters legalized possession and adult-use sales in November 2016.
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California cannabis businesses generated nearly $1.1 billion in taxes in 2022, down 21% from roughly $1.4 billion in 2021.
Oversupply is driving prices down.
Iowa Democrats Unveil Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization Bill
Wed / Feb 22nd by TG Branfalt
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Iowa’s Democratic state lawmakers have unveiled — but stopped short of formally introducing — their proposal to legalize cannabis for adult use.
Full story after the jump.
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Iowa House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled legislation to legalize cannabis for adult use, Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. Lawmakers, however, stopped short of formally introducing the measure which would legalize cannabis products with up to 500 milligrams of THC for adults 21-and-older.
House Minority Whip Rep. Lindsay James said the proposal “will keep Iowans safe” while preventing tax dollars from “going to neighboring states.” She said the measure would also “improve the quality of life for Iowans suffering from chronic illnesses and stop wasting state resources to unfairly punish Iowans.”
Iowa is bordered by Illinois which legalized adult cannabis use in 2020 and Missouri where adult-use cannabis sales launched this month.
Iowa does have a low-THC medical cannabis program. In 2022, medical cannabis sales in the state reached $10 million.
The legalization bill includes a 10% excise tax on cannabis sales and counties would have the option of imposing an addition 1% surcharge on state and local taxes derived from cannabis sales. Under the measure, cannabis excise taxes would be used for education, mental health services, and local public safety.
The measure faces an uphill battle as Republicans control both legislative chambers and the governor’s office. Last year, Rep. Steven Holt, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said he would “never support” cannabis legalization, according to the Capital Dispatch.
A poll released in 2020 found 53% of Iowans support the reforms.
Home / Canada
Will mass layoffs help or hinder the struggling cannabis industry?
Bonno
February 23, 2023
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Image of a dismissed worker boxing up his personal effects
Are widespread layoffs in the North American cannabis industry an effective cost-cutting tool – or will they do more damage in an already challenging environment?
Recent mass layoffs in technology, finance and media has prompted some business researchers to argue that widespread job cuts can be counterproductive when it comes to cutting expenses.
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“Layoffs often do not cut costs, as there are many instances of laid-off employees being hired back as contractors, with companies paying the contracting firm,” Jeffrey Pfeffer, a Stanford Graduate School of Business professor, told Stanford News in an interview about the massive numbers of layoffs in the technology industry in December.
In his research, Pfeffer has found that tech layoffs also typically fail to:
Increase stock prices.
Boost productivity.
Improve market share.
Increase revenue.
“Layoffs are basically a bad decision,” Pfeffer said.
Instead of cutting employees, he added, companies should consider alternatives such as salary reductions across the workforce or upgrading worker skills.
But does this ring true in the marijuana industry, which has experienced hundreds of layoffs in recent months at North American companies such as Ayr Wellness and Curaleaf Holdings in the U.S. and Canopy Growth Corp. in Canada?
Looking ahead, more cuts are expected as companies struggle with waning sales, falling wholesale marijuana prices and a dearth of capital.
California-based marijuana consultant Andrew DeAngelo argues that job cuts are counterproductive and warns that layoffs as a result of consolidation can also have a domino effect that ultimately hurts a company’s bottom line.
“Pretty critical people get laid off because (management) thinks they can find someone to do the job just as well for cheaper,” he told Bonno.
“But guess what? They can’t do it just as well, and product quality comes down, and then the customer experience goes down.”
Layoffs can also erase institutional knowledge within an organization, he added.
Plus, there’s the impact on workforce morale.
After recent layoffs at British Columbia-based Pure Sunfarms, for example, former and current employees of the cannabis producer left mixed reviews on the recruitment website GlassDoor.
It “used to be a fun and exciting company,” a quality assurance specialist wrote.
“Gloomy atmosphere after the group layoff (a) few months ago.”
Is cannabis different?
North American marijuana CEOs who have implemented layoffs in recent months acknowledge they’re hard on everyone involved.
But there are unique conditions in cannabis that have made layoffs necessary to survive in the short term, they contend.
Unlike the technology industry, for example, cannabis cultivators and retailers are uniquely challenged because marijuana remains illegal under federal law in the United States.
In addition, marijuana executives assert, companies are facing added pressures as markets mature and competition grows.
Among other things, sales have declined in older markets including California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state – this after a sales boom following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
In November, California-based multistate marijuana operator The Parent Co. (TPCO) reported a net loss of $31.3 million in its third-quarter earnings.
The company also said it had laid off 33% of its workforce as of Oct. 27.
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The decision was expected to generate approximately $10 million in payroll savings.
“That was necessary,” Chief Executive Officer Troy Datcher told Bonno earlier this month.
“We used strategy to make those decisions. We got very clear on who we wanted to be when we grow up.
“And once we made that choice, we decided to walk away from nonstrategic capabilities that we felt other partners could do at more efficient costs.”
One example was distribution.
Previously, TPCO owned dozens of fleets of trucks that were driving products all over the state of California.
The company has since opted to outsource distribution to wholesale platform Nabis for a significantly lower cost, according to Datcher.
“That’s how we’ve been able to maintain a growth mindset and profile,” he said. “Because we shed the things that, strategically, we just weren’t the best at.”
As a result, Datcher said, he can focus on the company’s strengths: brand-building, operations and running stores.
“And we’re going to lean into those capabilities to make sure that we do the best for our shareholders.”
Since the interview, however, TPCO has implemented yet another major change.
On Wednesday, the company announced it was merging with California-based Gold Flora in an all-stock deal.
TPCO shareholders will own 49% of the combined company and Gold Flora shareholders will own the remaining 51%.
According to a news release, the merger is expected to “achieve annualized cost savings of between $20 (million) and $25 million.”
Scaling back as margins shrink
After Canopy Growth said this month it was shuttering its flagship cultivation facility and laying off approximately 800 workers, several CEOs of licensed producers held a news conference to warn the Canadian federal government that hundreds more layoffs could follow if marijuana business taxes and fees aren’t reduced.
Mandesh Dosanjh, president and CEO of cannabis producer Pure Sunfarms, acknowledged at the news conference that his company had already downsized last fall and cut 27 jobs – even though it reported steady revenue growth and a profit for its second quarter.
In an interview with Bonno, Dosanjh conceded that layoffs can be very hard on both outgoing and remaining employees.
But in this case, the layoffs weren’t just about cutting costs, he said. Instead, they were spread across a number of departments where the company had scaled up too quickly.
“We had started to scale in areas and departments where we were getting ready for ongoing growth in the industry,” said Dosanjh, whose company is the marijuana unit of U.S. and Canadian produce company Village Farms International.
“When we thought about what 2023 was going to hold for us, we don’t think the growth in 2023 is going to be as sustained as what we saw in 2020 and 2021.”
But Dosanjh said layoffs can negatively impact the remaining employees, making them feel uneasy, fearful or distrustful toward management.
Dosanjh said the company aimed to reduce the potential negative impact on remaining employees by being as transparent and communicative as possible about how factors such as high taxes, declining recreational sales and wholesale prices impact the business.
That communication also extends to regular updates about the company’s financial health.
“We find that through communication, we’re able to manage uneasiness of the workforce,” he said.
“But it is challenging always for anybody to go through change, and especially when the industry is going through change, it creates a lot of uneasiness.”
Further pressure on the company could be reduced if the Canadian government fulfilled its promise to finish its review of the Cannabis Act and cut taxes and fees, Dosanjh said.
If not, more marijuana layoffs are bound to happen.
“It’s not just cannabis companies that are going to be impacted. It’s ancillary businesses that support our industry,” Dosanjh said.
“Communities across this country are going to have massive impacts. And we’re starting to see that.”
The Nature of Things
Weed might not affect our brains that much: 6 surprising facts about cannabis
Bonno
22-02-2023
Cannabis was the first thing ever sold online, but we’ve been using it for thousands of years
Humans have used cannabis in different ways for thousands of years. Now with a steadily growing market of innovative products, science is trying to keep up. (CBC/Science & Cannabis).
Whatever you want to call it, cannabis has a lot of names — and a lot of uses — for a humble plant. Since it was legalized in Canada in 2018, the plant and its compounds have fuelled a steadily -growing market that offers everything from pre-rolled joints to gummies, soft drinks, vaporizers and oils.
In Science & Cannabis, a documentary from The Nature of Things, we discover how scientists are trying to untangle the health claims and benefits made about the "miracle weed" and distinguish the myths from the reality.
Weed was the first online sale
It was sometime between 1971 and 1972 and it was illegal at the time, but the first e-commerce transaction was for a bag of weed.
Using ARPANET, a precursor to the internet, students at Stanford University struck a deal with students at MIT for the sale of an undetermined amount of marijuana.
This transaction wasn't like buying cannabis products online today. There was no exchange of money over the early web. Instead, the details of an in-person deal were "hashed out" over ARPANET.
Cannabis has over 100 active cannabinoids
You've likely heard of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol), but they're only two of more than 100 cannabinoids.
Cannabinoids are compounds that can be found in the cannabis leaf, stem and bud. They've become widespread in products that you can smoke, eat, vape, drink or rub on your skin, and are increasingly used to alleviate everything from pain to anxiety. But the full effects of cannabinoids are still being determined.
Because cannabis has been illegal for so long, researching its compounds has been somewhat difficult. Now, new and ingenious products are entering the market at such an incredible pace, and scientists are playing catch-up.
Legacy knew it all along but…
CBD: miracle cure or snake oil? | Science and Cannabis
With the rapid growth of the cannabis market, cannabidiol - or CBD - has been touted as an almost cure-all. But the research into this compound hasn't caught up and the science remains unclear on its actual health benefits.
People have used cannabis for thousands of years
Even though different countries and cultures have different views on cannabis use, humans have been using the stuff for millennia.
Cannabis was first domesticated in East Asia, where it grows naturally. For about 4,000 years, humans have used its fibres to make hemp rope and clothing, and the plant's oily seeds for food. Cannabis seeds have even been found with Japanese pottery shards dated to about 10,000 years ago. It was traded along the Silk Road and spread across continents. But until recently, we weren't sure just how long we've been using marijuana for medicinal or therapeutic purposes.
In a 2019 study, researchers discovered chemical residues from the burning of cannabis plants during burial ceremonies at Jirzankal Cemetery in the Pamirs region of western China — 2,500 years ago. Cannabis stems and seeds have been found at various burial sites in Asia and Europe, but according to one theory, these ancient humans might have been smoking marijuana to communicate with those in the afterlife.
Cannabis has a lot of different uses
Pot and hemp — one can get you high, but the other has more uses.
In 2011, researchers at the University of Saskatchewan sequenced the genome of Cannabis sativa. They discovered that over thousands of years, humans selectively bred the plant into two strains: one for fibres and seeds, and one for medicine.
"The … analysis showed that the [synthase gene of THC's precursor, THCA], an essential enzyme in THCA production, is turned on in marijuana, but switched off in hemp," said Jon Page, a lead author of the study.
Hemp has been widely used for millennia. Besides rope and clothing, it's been used for everything from art canvases to sails to paper. In fact, one study suggests Easter Island's massive statues might have been "walked" into place using hemp ropes (and a lot of elbow grease).
More recently, hempcrete — a durable, lightweight composite reinforced with hemp — has been used in construction and can replace materials like drywall, insulation and siding.
'Stoned' might not mean impaired
There's a stereotype about marijuana users: they're lazy and mentally slower than non-users. But recent research suggests that in earlier studies on the impact of cannabis on cognition, subjects were affected by unfamiliar lab settings while using drugs.
UBC doctoral candidate Michelle St. Pierre wanted to get to the bottom of how weed can affect our brains. "Is it safe to get behind the wheel of a car?" she said in the documentary. "Scientists and the public are really interested in this."
We found that there was actually no difference in cognition between the sober condition and the stoned condition.
- Michelle St. Pierre
St. Pierre had subjects perform a cognitive test and then asked them to get high as they normally would — on their own cannabis and in a familiar environment like their own home — and then had them perform another test so she could compare each person's ability while stoned and sober.
"We found that there was actually no difference in cognition between the sober condition and the stoned condition," she said. "I'm not saying cannabis doesn't cause any impact on cognition, but in regular near-daily users in a familiar environment, using cannabis in a way that's typical to them, we found not a lot of impairment if any."
Watch Science & Cannabis on The Nature of Things.
The Nature of Things
Bonno 23-02-2023
Weed is stronger than ever, but it might not affect our brains that much: 6 surprising facts about cannabis
Cannabis was the first thing ever sold online, but we’ve been using it for thousands of years
A close up of a cannabis leaf
Humans have used cannabis in different ways for thousands of years. Now with a steadily growing market of innovative products, science is trying to keep up. (CBC/Science & Cannabis)
907
comments
Weed, reefer, Mary Jane, chronic.
Whatever you want to call it, cannabis has a lot of names — and a lot of uses — for a humble plant. Since it was legalized in Canada in 2018, the plant and its compounds have fuelled a steadily -growing market that offers everything from pre-rolled joints to gummies, soft drinks, vaporizers and oils.
In Science & Cannabis, a documentary from The Nature of Things, we discover how scientists are trying to untangle the health claims and benefits made about the "miracle weed" and distinguish the myths from the medicine.
Weed was the first online sale
It was sometime between 1971 and 1972 and it was illegal at the time, but the first e-commerce transaction was for a bag of weed.
Using ARPANET, a precursor to the internet, students at Stanford University struck a deal with students at MIT for the sale of an undetermined amount of marijuana.
This transaction wasn't like buying cannabis products online today. There was no exchange of money over the early web. Instead, the details of an in-person deal were "hashed out" over ARPANET.
Cannabis has over 100 active cannabinoids
You've likely heard of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol), but they're only two of more than 100 cannabinoids.
Cannabinoids are compounds that can be found in the cannabis leaf, stem and bud. They've become widespread in products that you can smoke, eat, vape, drink or rub on your skin, and are increasingly used to alleviate everything from pain to anxiety. But the full effects of cannabinoids are still being determined.
Because cannabis has been illegal for so long, researching its compounds has been somewhat difficult. Now, new and ingenious products are entering the market at such an incredible pace, and scientists are playing catch-up.
CBD: miracle cure or snake oil? | Science and Cannabis
With the rapid growth of the cannabis market, cannabidiol - or CBD - has been touted as an almost cure-all. But the research into this compound hasn't caught up and the science remains unclear on its actual health benefits.
People have used cannabis for thousands of years
Even though different countries and cultures have different views on cannabis use, humans have been using the stuff for millennia.
Cannabis was first domesticated in East Asia, where it grows naturally. For about 4,000 years, humans have used its fibres to make hemp rope and clothing, and the plant's oily seeds for food. Cannabis seeds have even been found with Japanese pottery shards dated to about 10,000 years ago. It was traded along the Silk Road and spread across continents. But until recently, we weren't sure just how long we've been using marijuana for medicinal or therapeutic purposes.
In a 2019 study, researchers discovered chemical residues from the burning of cannabis plants during burial ceremonies at Jirzankal Cemetery in the Pamirs region of western China — 2,500 years ago. Cannabis stems and seeds have been found at various burial sites in Asia and Europe, but according to one theory, these ancient humans might have been smoking marijuana to communicate with those in the afterlife.
Cannabis has a lot of different uses
Pot and hemp — one can get you high, but the other has more uses.
In 2011, researchers at the University of Saskatchewan sequenced the genome of Cannabis sativa. They discovered that over thousands of years, humans selectively bred the plant into two strains: one for fibres and seeds, and one for medicine.
"The … analysis showed that the [synthase gene of THC's precursor, THCA], an essential enzyme in THCA production, is turned on in marijuana, but switched off in hemp," said Jon Page, a lead author of the study.
Hemp has been widely used for millennia. Besides rope and clothing, it's been used for everything from art canvases to sails to paper. In fact, one study suggests Easter Island's massive statues might have been "walked" into place using hemp ropes (and a lot of elbow grease).
More recently, hempcrete — a durable, lightweight composite reinforced with hemp — has been used in construction and can replace materials like drywall, insulation and siding.
'Stoned' might not mean impaired
There's a stereotype about marijuana users: they're lazy and mentally slower than non-users. But recent research suggests that in earlier studies on the impact of cannabis on cognition, subjects were affected by unfamiliar lab settings while using drugs.
UBC doctoral candidate Michelle St. Pierre wanted to get to the bottom of how weed can affect our brains. "Is it safe to get behind the wheel of a car?" she said in the documentary. "Scientists and the public are really interested in this."
We found that there was actually no difference in cognition between the sober condition and the stoned condition.
- Michelle St. Pierre
St. Pierre had subjects perform a cognitive test and then asked them to get high as they normally would — on their own cannabis and in a familiar environment like their own home — and then had them perform another test so she could compare each person's ability while stoned and sober.
"We found that there was actually no difference in cognition between the sober condition and the stoned condition," she said. "I'm not saying cannabis doesn't cause any impact on cognition, but in regular near-daily users in a familiar environment, using cannabis in a way that's typical to them, we found not a lot of impairment if any."
Watch Science & Cannabis on The Nature of Things.
Jesse Ventura has commited a crime.
Dude is a criminal.
You got that right. Criminals in action.
Heavy bear market coming within a year
Home / Retail
Canadian adult-use cannabis sales jump nearly 18% in 2022, hitting CA$4.5 2 billion.
Bonno 22-02-2023
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Image of a map of Canada
Canada’s cannabis consumers spent 4.52 billion Canadian dollars ($3.35 billion) on regulated adult-use products in 2022, growing 17.9% over 2021’s sales total, according to new retail sales data released Tuesday by Statistics Canada.
The year-over-year sales increase came as the number of licensed cannabis stores in Canada increased.
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In 2021, Canadians bought CA$3.83 billion worth of recreational cannabis from licensed stores.
Despite the notable year-over-year increase, the pace of cannabis sales growth in Canada appears to be slowing, said Michael Armstrong, who studies Canada’s cannabis market as an associate business professor at Brock University in St. Catharine’s, Ontario.
“I think that (growth), to a large extent, is the story of stores,” Armstrong told MJBizDaily.
Across Canada, Armstrong explained, cannabis sales trends track closely with the number of retail outlets.
In Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and most valuable marijuana market, the number of cannabis stores increased until the summer of 2022, he said.
“Most other provinces weren’t adding stores as rapidly,” Armstrong said.
“Alberta was close, but they already had a lot of stores, so I think they were seeing less effect.”
Canada is home to roughly 3,700 cannabis stores and retail licenses, including nearly 1,700 in Ontario.
Overall store count growth has stagnated, Armstrong said.
Without some kind of change - for example, if major cities such as Richmond, British Columbia, or Mississauga, Ontario, permitted cannabis retail, or if provincial governments were more permissive toward consumption lounge - Armstrong expects future market growth to come from "slow, gradual population growth, maybe a little bit of product innovation."
"But nothing like what we have seen prior to this year," he added.
Monthly cannabis sales record
Monthly recreational cannabis sales reached a record CA$425.9 million in December, following month-over-month declines in October and November.
Sales increased 13.8% on a month-over-month basis from November's revised sales total of CA$374.3 million.
After adjusting for the fact that December was one day longer than November, month-over-month sales increased by 10.1%.
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The province of Manitoba led Canada in monthly sales growth, with sales increasing by 21.7%, to CA$18.3 million, from November to December.
Cannabis sales also grew on a monthly basis in every other province and territory tracked by Statistics Canada, as follows (presented in order of market size):
Ontario: CA$171.2 million (+15.1%)
Alberta: CA$73.8 million (+11.1%)
British Columbia: CA$63.1 million (+13.3%)
Quebec: CA$54.6 million (+12.7%)
Saskatchewan: CA$17 million (+10%)
Nova Scotia: CA$9.9 million (+15.2%)
New Brunswick: CA$7.6 million (+14.3%)
Newfoundland and Labrador: CA$6.4 million (+13.8%)
Prince Edward Island: CA$2 million (+10%)
Yukon: CA$966,000 (+13.4%)
Statistics Canada did not present sales figures for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Armstrong said the strong December sales figure is partly attributable to seasonal holiday spending.
"To the extent that that is true, we will likely see the reverse in January, a small drop," Armstrong said.
"Just like you see in most other retail sectors, spending peaks in November, December, and then January, February (are) slow months before things recover in March."
WARNING – Don’t Buy Cannabis Stocks!
Bonno
11-02-2017
In a recent article titled “No to Marijuana Stocks, Yes to Weed Investing“, we advised investors to stay well clear of any over-the-counter (OTC) “cannabis stocks” as they are most likely all scams. Don’t believe us? Even FINRA warned specifically against investing in OTC cannabis stocks:
Marijuana Stock Scams Update: In early January 2014, new laws regarding the legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes went into effect in a number of states. At the same time, media coverage of the issue increased, as did investor interest in shares of marijuana-related companies. In some cases, volumes for the stock of otherwise thinly traded, marijuana-related companies increased dramatically—and prices became quite volatile. In May 2014, the SEC issued an alert and accompanying trading suspensions for numerous companies that claim their operations relate to the marijuana industry.
http://www.finra.org/investors/alerts/marijuana-stock-scams
Given the stoned populace that now wants to “invest in weed legalization man”, it’s very easy for these OTC companies to present a compelling case for their “cannabis stocks” given the lack of investing acumen in most of the people interested. Not to mention, they’re probably baked out of their gourds half the time. The truth is, there are many cannabis stock scams out there alongside of legitimate cannabis stocks like Aphria and Canopy Growth which are selling tons of medical marijuana to “patients” across Canada.
A half-baked article was published by Benzinga a few days ago titled “6 Weed Stocks That Aren’t Penny Stocks“. Based on the fact that it was published one day before 4/20, we’re not guessing the author knows that much about cannabis. Here’s an excerpt from that article:
Although investing in stocks that trade off of the major exchanges is always a risky proposition, here are six marijuana stocks that at least (for now) have avoided “penny stock” status by maintaining share prices above $1.
1. GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH)
2. Zoned Properties Inc (OTC: ZDPY)
3. AeroGrow International, Inc. (OTC: AERO)
4. Cannabis Sativa Inc (OTC: CBDS)
5. CANOPY GROWTH CORP COM NPV (OTC: TWMJF)
6. General Cannabis Corp (OTC: CANN)
Just because these stock prices are expressed in dollars does not mean they are safe at all to invest in. Any “penny stock” can express their price in dollars by performing a reverse split. If you believe that article and invest in OTC stocks because they’re over $1 a share, you should just roll your money up and light it on fire. The warmth you get from that fire will be of more value than the eventual value of those OTC shares in the majority of cases. A chronic problem that exists on the OTC exchange is that of incompetent management teams and pump-and-dumps. Don’t take a hit by investing in these duds. The jury remains out on GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH) which is traded on NASDAQ and has a market cap of $1.8 billion. Canopy Growth is also trading on a major exchange now and is legitimate. Also check out Aphria which we wrote about that is also legitimate and the lowest cost producer we know of.
Cannabis as an investment theme is a very viable one. Even Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is investing in this space. With decriminalization in effect in the U.S., cannabis is gradually losing the stigma associated with it and investors see this trend. The great team over at CB Insights published their newsletter today wishing everyone a happy 420 day and exhaled the below pictorial which shows just how popular cannabis startups have become:
Cannabis_Companies
On a side note, we grew up thinking that 420 originated from a police code for homicide. While that’s partially true, it actually originated from some high school students in San Rafael back in the 1970s. Who knew eh? Anyways, what were we talking about? Oh yeah, investing in weed.
So according to CB Insights, cannabis startups raised over $213 million in 2015 with deals hitting a new high in Q4 2015. With over 50 companies in this space, some of these names are just dank. “Nugg” and “Speedweed” will deliver some buds to your door when you’re craving. “Kind” helps your weed themed business venture to stay in compliance with the law. “CannabisNow” and “Merry Jane” (get it?) provide your weed news as it breaks. Given the target consumer profile, having a memorable name for your cannabis startup is key here.
Conclusion
With at least private 50 companies sprouting up like weeds in the cannabis space, there will certainly be opportunities to invest in the future for retail investors. In the meantime, there are probably 100s of OTC companies, trading in pennies or dollars per share, that claim to be viable ways to invest in the future of cannabis. Don’t invest in them! Instead, just keep reading Nanalyze and we’ll steer you clear of all the traps out there and make sure you’re kept up to date on the first cannabis IPO that gets passed our way along with legitimate cannabis stocks we come across.
If you're going to invest in cannabis stocks, there are only a handful you should hold. Become a Nanalyze Premium subscriber and we'll tell you which ones. Sign up, then send us an email and we'll point you to the appropriate research pieces.
You snooze you lose…
Big Biz Marijuana – Who Wins, Who Loses?
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
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POT TV – Rabble’s Off The Hill asked the big question about big business in Canadian bud.
Canada’s federal cannabis legalization has been surrounded by stock market hype and political promises, but what did the legislation really do for Canadians and cannabis? Though a review of the Cannabis Act is pending, the panel completely lacks any representation from the culture. What would a real discussion about dank look like?
Off The Hill hosted a panel discussion with Jodie Giesz-Ramsay, Chuka Ejeckam, MP Don Davies, Robin Browne and Libby Davies about who’s paid the price for legal pot in Canada.
Doomed!
Home / Canada
Cannabis firm Canopy raising $95 million in convertible debt offering
Bonno
February 21, 2023
Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth Corp. entered into an agreement with an institutional investor for a convertible debt issuance worth up to $150 million (203 million Canadian dollars) in two tranches.
Per the terms of the deal, the investor is purchasing $100 million of the convertible debentures in an initial tranche, the Smiths Falls, Ontario-based company said in a Tuesday news release.
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An additional $50 million could be purchased in a second tranche if certain conditions are satisfied.
The convertible debentures, which mature Feb. 28, 2028, will bear interest at a rate of 5% per year from the date of issuance, payable in common shares
Up to 98,929,320 common shares underlie the convertible debentures.
Canopy said it intends to use net proceeds from the initial tranche for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Estimated net proceeds will be roughly $95 million and $48 million for the first and second tranches, respectively.
“Canopy Growth is executing a strategy focused on accelerating growth and profitability by transforming our Canadian operations and fast-tracking entry into the U.S. market,” Chief Financial Officer Judy Hong said in a statement.
“Building on other recent actions taken to enhance cash flow, this attractive capital immediately adds to Canopy Growth’s cash on hand and provides additional flexibility to continue advancing strategic priorities.”
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Earlier this month, Canopy announced that it was planning to close its flagship cultivation facility in Smiths Falls and cutting more than a third of its workforce as part of a shift to an “asset-light model” in Canada.
Canopy is doomed!