Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico’s Senate will vote for a bill to fully legalize marijuana in the next few days, a key lawmaker told Reuters, marking a major step toward changing the country’s approach to the drug by removing it as a source of income for violent drug gangs. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, […] Read more
Mexican Senate set to pass bill to legalize marijuana in next few days
Pot producer CannTrust to destroy $77M in plants, inventory
Reuters — Canadian cannabis producer CannTrust Holdings said Monday it would destroy about $12 million worth of plants and about $65 million worth of inventory as part of a plan to regain full regulatory compliance. Health Canada canceled CannTrust’s license to produce and sell cannabis in September, months after it found the company was illegally […] Read more
Short-sellers circle cannabis stocks as profits dwindle
New York | Reuters — Wall Street’s love of cannabis appears to be going up in smoke as vaping-related ailments and missed revenue projections are prompting short sellers to raise their bets against the industry, fund managers and analysts said on Wednesday. Short interest in cannabis stocks, which reflects bets that prices will fall, has […] Read more
Vape product concerns weigh on cannabis companies
Toronto | Reuters — A U.S. recommendation that consumers avoid vaping products containing the active ingredient in marijuana ahead of their legalization in Canada next month could be a blow to Canadian cannabis companies’ hopes that the higher-margin products will help propel them to profitability. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said […] Read more
Pot producer CannTrust’s federal license suspended
Reuters — Troubled Canadian pot grower CannTrust Holdings said Tuesday its license to produce and sell cannabis has been suspended by Health Canada. CannTrust had delayed its second-quarter results last month awaiting a decision from Canada’s health regulator on a large amount of inventory put on hold after discovery of illegal cultivation by the company. […] Read more
Alberta college courses offer hemp agronomy 101
NorQuest College of Edmonton hopes to provide new growers with information on the crop
Reading Time: 3 minutes As hemp production jumps across the Prairies, more first-time producers are being drawn to the crop, prompting an Alberta college to offer a course in how to grow it. NorQuest College offers two courses, one on hemp production and another on processing and products. The Edmonton community college aims to equip continuing education students with […] Read more
Cannabis firm Tilray sees growth slowing
Reuters — Pot producer Tilray Inc. reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on Tuesday, as it ramped up investments to boost production and warned of muted growth in the Canadian recreational marijuana market for the second half of the year. Shares of the Nanaimo, B.C.-based company fell eight per cent after hours. Canada in October became […] Read more
Couche-Tard takes stake in cannabis retailer
One of Canada’s biggest convenience store operators is moving ahead on its stated goal of getting into the retail cannabis business. Edmonton-based cannabis retailer Fire + Flower announced Wednesday it has issued a $25.99 million debenture, convertible to a 9.9 per cent ownership stake, to Quebec’s Alimentation Couche-Tard. The Laval-based firm said its planned investment […] Read more
Canadian greenhouse labor shortages worsened by growing cannabis producers
Ottawa | Reuters – Canada’s labor-strapped greenhouse vegetable and flower growers are ramping up efforts to keep and recruit more workers in the face of pressure from the country’s budding cannabis industry, farm groups say. “Many of the cannabis producers are very cash rich. They’ve got the resources to pay a very good wage,” said […] Read more
Ontario’s slow rollout of weed outlets could help black market
Toronto | Reuters — Ontario has blamed a shortage of legal cannabis from the federal government for its slow rollout of retail outlets, a claim dismissed by the federal government and regulatory bodies from other provinces, raising prospects the black market for weed may thrive longer in Canada’s most populous province. Canada became the first […] Read more
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