Ottawa | Reuters — As Canada gears up to legalize recreational marijuana, the country’s statistics agency said on Tuesday it will begin measuring the economic impact of the current illegal use and production of the drug and add it to growth data. Statistics Canada said it will begin tallying the production and sale of cannabis […] Read more
StatsCan to add marijuana economic impact to GDP data
Constellation hedges bets on pot boom with Canopy stake
Reuters — Constellation Brands has bought a nearly 10 per cent stake in Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth Corp. for about $245 million, making it the first major wine, beer and spirits producer to invest in legal cannabis. The move by the maker of Corona beer and Svedka vodka comes as Canada and a growing […] Read more
Toronto exchange may delist marijuana firms with U.S. operations
Toronto | Reuters — Canada’s TMX Group, operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, said on Monday that it might delist stocks of marijuana companies with interests in the U.S., where their operations are illegal under federal law. TMX disclosed its plans as Canadian securities regulators said companies must disclose any connection to the U.S. marijuana […] Read more
Post-secondary cannabis credentials on offer
Degree and diploma aggies interested in producing commercial cannabis and/or hemp will be able to get college-certified starting next year. Niagara College announced Tuesday it will launch a graduate certificate program in commercial cannabis production in 2018, a program it bills as Canada’s “first post-secondary credential” in the crop’s production. Niagara picked up approval this […] Read more
Hothouse produce grower to devote site to marijuana
Canada’s only publicly traded greenhouse produce-growing company plans to put up one of its British Columbia greenhouses for a new venture in cannabis production. Vancouver-based Village Farms announced Tuesday it has partnered with Victoria-based medical cannabis producer/processor Emerald Health Therapeutics in a 50/50 joint venture to grow cannabis for medical use and, pending changes to […] Read more
With demand, deregulation, ‘opportunities abound’ for hemp
CNS Canada — Aggressive contracting in the hemp sector is expected to bump up Canadian acres — another benefit for growers who will experience less red tape this year. “We’ve seen a lot of activity on the contracting side for growers,” said Kim Shukla, executive director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance at Steinbach, Man. […] Read more
Marijuana firms look to get creative with brand building
Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian marijuana companies, facing potential limits on advertising for recreational pot, are selling health food products and cultivating a lifestyle image to win customers in an anticipated multibillion dollar market. Canada is set to become the first G7 country to legalize recreational marijuana nationally when it introduces legislation next spring. Medical […] Read more
Flower growers turn to weed ahead of legalization
Winnipeg | Reuters — Some Canadian flower growers are turning to weed, with the country’s plan to legalize marijuana for recreational use expected to spur a spike in legal sales of the drug. While medical marijuana is already legal in Canada, the Liberal government said in April it will introduce a law in 2017 to […] Read more
End of reefer madness could clear air for Canadian hemp
CNS Canada — Anticipated legislative changes for marijuana production could spill over to hemp, according to the head of an industry group — but this year, Canada’s hemp producers are struggling to meet a surprise demand increase from Asia. “There’s lots of discussion with things changing in the marijuana arena; hemp also falls in that […] Read more
Canada to press U.S. on ‘ludicrous’ marijuana border policy
Ottawa | Reuters –– Canada will push the United States to change a border policy that has banned Canadians who admit to having used marijuana from travel to the U.S., given Canada’s plans to legalize pot, a government spokesman said Friday. The case of a Canadian man barred from U.S. travel because he admitted to […] Read more
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