CNS Canada — Hemp producers across Western Canada will potentially gain access to lucrative new markets thanks to changes for this year’s harvest. For the first time, hemp growers are allowed to harvest their plants’ buds, leaves and flowers, after receiving an exemption from Health Canada. The market opportunities will be significant, said Ted Haney, […] Read more
Hemp growers eye new markets for 2018
Ontario delays start date of retail cannabis sales
Toronto | Reuters — Ontario’s newly elected Tory government said Monday it will delay the start date of recreational marijuana sales in the province and will allow private retailers to sell cannabis rather than government-run stores. Ontario will allow private retailers to sell recreational marijuana starting on April 1, officials from the province’s Progressive Conservative […] Read more
Canopy Growth to buy Tokyo Smoke owner Hiku Brands
Reuters — Ontario’s Canopy Growth Corp. is buying Toyko Smoke cannabis owner Hiku Brands Co. Ltd. for $269.2 million, the latest deal in a fast-consolidating sector ahead of legal recreational marijuana sales. Smiths Falls-based Canopy Growth on Tuesday offered 0.046 of its shares, or $1.91 per share, for each Hiku share held, a premium of […] Read more
U.S. approves marijuana-derived drug for epilepsy
Reuters — The U.S. health regulator approved GW Pharmaceuticals’ epilepsy treatment on Monday, making it the first cannabis-based drug to win approval in the country and opening floodgates for more research into the medicinal properties of cannabis. The drug’s approval permits its use in patients aged two years and older with Dravet Syndrome (DS) and […] Read more
Senate approves recreational use of marijuana
Toronto | Reuters — Canada’s upper house of Parliament on Tuesday approved a revised bill to legalize recreational marijuana, setting the stage for the country to become the first Group of Seven nation to legalize cannabis. The Senate voted 52-29 in favour of the revised bill from the House of Commons, paving the way for […] Read more
Olds leads the way as medical marijuana market booms
Terra Life Sciences shows the power of value-added processing in its cannabis cultivation facility and pharmaceutical plant
Reading Time: 5 minutes Terra Life Sciences would look like any other manufacturing plant if not for the security guard parked out front. He’s the gatekeeper here. You’ll find another one just like him at the other gate, checking in visitors, scrutinizing IDs, buzzing through the people who pass muster. But these guards are just your first glimpse of […] Read more
Plenty of jobs in budding cannabis industry
Spots in Olds College cannabis program snapped up in hours, with hundreds of jobs in Alberta beckoning
Reading Time: 3 minutes Olds College’s new cannabis production program isn’t some half-baked idea — it’s high time. “We’ve been offering horticulture programming for over 50 years, so it makes sense for this new facet of the horticulture industry to come our way for training,” said Debbie Thompson, the college’s vice-president academic and student experience. “It’s a new industry […] Read more
Aurora to buy Ontario’s MedReleaf in biggest-ever pot deal
Reuters — Aurora Cannabis will buy rival MedReleaf Corp. for $3.2 billion in the biggest deal yet to unify major Canadian pot growers, as the country moves toward legalizing marijuana for recreational use. The deal announced Monday is the latest in a wave of mergers in the industry as marijuana producers — emboldened by pot […] Read more
Second Cup to set up cannabis lounges in West
Updated, April 13 — Canada’s No. 2 specialty coffeehouse chain has a partnership deal in place to convert some of its outlets in Western Canada to recreational cannabis shops and lounges. Second Cup on Thursday announced a “strategic alliance” with National Access Cannabis Corp. (NAC) to roll out a network of NAC-branded recreational cannabis dispensaries, […] Read more
Canada prepares for legal pot with new license class, labels
Toronto | Reuters –– Canada’s health regulator on Monday set out thresholds for a new class of cannabis cultivation and processing licenses, and outlined strict requirements for the packaging and labeling of recreational marijuana ahead of its legalization this year. The proposals were published in a document released by Health Canada, taking into account feedback […] Read more
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