MARCH 31, 2018
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THIS IS WEEDWEEK CANADA.
Welcome to WeedWeek Canada, the best way to keep up with Canada's green rush.

WWCanada is a Saturday morning newsletter for professionals in the world's largest fully-legal cannabis market. Our goal is to deliver key data and insights in a quick, digestible format.

Like the original WeedWeek, WWCanada strives to replicate the separation of business and editorial operations practiced at reputable news organizations. Most importantly, advertisers have no influence on editorial content. (For complete ethics statement see the bottom of this email.)

WWCanada is written by Jesse Staniforth, a freelance journalist in Montreal who has reported extensively on indigenous issues, cybersecurity, food safety, and cannabis for outlets including Leafly, ThinkProgress, The Walrus and Salon. You can find him on twitter @jbstaniforth .
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ALEX HALPERIN
The WeedWeek Podcast
It's the California's a mess episode!

This week on the podcast, Hayley and Alex talk to superstar cannabis attorney Hilary Bricken about what's not working in the golden state. You should also read Bricken's posts at the excellent Canna Law Blog.

Plus, they check in with longtime Humboldt grower Kevin Jodrey about legalization in the Emerald Triangle.

The episode lands Monday by 4:20 p.m. Pacific.

Don't forget to rate it five stars on iTunes !

Previous shows feature:
-Episode 11 Jim McAlpine founder of the 420 Games
-Episode 10 Previously incarcerated activist and entrepreneur Lukas Lucas on L.A.'s equity program
-Episode 9 Journalist David Bienenstock talks about social justice within the industry and his new podcast Great Moments in Weed
-Episode 8 Jackie Fox (Hayley's mom) talks about becoming a MED user later in life.
-Episode 7 Dr. Peter Grinspoon, Harvard Medical School, on cannabis, opioids and the medical establishment.
-Episode 6 Anja Charbonneau, editor of design forward cannabis magazine Broccoli
-Episode 4 L.A. cannabis Business attorney  Ariel Clark on what cannabis entrepreneurs need to know
-Episode 3 Congressman and longtime legalization supporter Earl Blumenauer
-Episode 2  Emily Dufton, author of Grass Roots: The rise and fall and rise of marijuana in America, on the history of legalization

Comments or feedback? Don't be shy. Our producer is Katie Long.

Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Contact here.

Here's the news.
Politics
After legalization Bill C-45 passed its second reading in the Senate, the Liberal government announced REC legalization would begin by the end of the summer . (Global News)
 
While each adult may possess 30 grams of dried cannabis under Bill C-45, the law does not specify how much may be stored in a residence. It also grants individuals the right to demand return of their cannabis plants if police have seized them unfairly, but does not lay out how and if police must care for plants, or can destroy them and compensate their owner. (Global News)
 
Despite reports of Canadians banned for life from the US for admitting to past cannabis use, Public Security Minister Ralph Goodale said REC legalization should not cause problems for Canadians at the US border. (Maclean’s, Vancouver Sun)
Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor praised the government’s public education campaigns for informing millions of children about the dangers of cannabis. (Vancouver Sun)
 
Municipalities want provinces to share revenues from cannabis excise tax with them, though no plan yet exists for how that would take place (Calgary Herald)
 
REC may increase black-market cannabis in Canada, said Glenn Gaasche, who retired as the agent in charge of the Grand Junction, Colorado Drug Enforcement Agency field office last year.
  • “Our black market has increased twenty-fold,” he said. (CBC British Columbia)
 
International policy analysts encouraged Canada to modify UN drug treaties in order to regulate REC without leaving the treaties entirely. (iPolitics)
 
The president of the Quebec Pharmacist-Owners Association called for an end to MED distribution by mail without professional healthcare supervision. (The Hill Times—Paywall)
 
Calgary’s proposed cannabis rules will ban smoking and vaping of cannabis outside of public homes . (Calgary Herald)
 
Unlike other provinces, Alberta has no Provincial Sales Tax, but it will impose a 10% tax on cannabis. The 5% federal Goods and Services Tax will also apply.
  • Alberta’s cannabis tax is expected to bring in $26M over the first year, and $80M in 2020-2021. (CBC Edmonton)
Premier Rachel Notley said the province still expects REC costs to exceed net revenue for at least two years. (CTV News)
 
The costs to set up Ontario’s cannabis retail network will lead to losses of $8M in 2017-2018 and $40M in 2018-2019, the provincial budget predicts . By 2019-2020, the budget foresees $35M net income, and $100M the next year.
  • Ontario is creating a Cannabis Intelligence Co-ordination Centre to shut down illegal dispensaries, while also developing a group of crown prosecutors specializing in drug-impaired driving cases.
  • The budget also allows for $40M over the first two years of legalization to ease municipal costs related to REC. (CTV News)
 
Nova Scotia is amending its smoking legislation to increase the number of places smoking and vaping either tobacco or cannabis will be banned. Public trails, public parks, and provincial beaches will now be off-limits for smoking , while smokers must go more than 20 metres from playgrounds or publicly owned sports event or venue. (Vancouver Sun, CBC Nova Scotia)
 
Doctors Nova Scotia , representing the province’s doctors, released a list of recommendations of how the province should handle REC legalization . It includes restricting availability, selling only through government monopoly, and pricing cannabis according to its THC concentration.
  • The recommendations encourage the government to price cannabis competitively to edge out the black market, then to raise the price over time.
  • DNS also argued for a minimum age of 21, though Nova Scotia has set its minimum age at 19. (Global News)
 
Prince Edward Island will sell REC seeds and seedlings along with dried flower and cannabis oil, but it won’t sell edibles . Citizens of PEI will be strictly limited to consuming cannabis in private residences and a few designated exception spaces. (CBC PEI)
 
Saskatchewan’s NDP is demanding both the federal and provincial governments pardon those convicted in cannabis charges . Saskatchewan’s Attorney General said “A blanket pardon is probably not in the best interests of justice.” (Regina Leader-Post)
 
Grey-market dispensaries are opening on First Nations reserves , where the authority of non-Indigenous police over Indigenous jurisdictions is uncertain. (London Free Press)
 
Independent Senator Murray Sinclair says REC legalization will deepen problems on First Nations reserves unless the government amends legalization Bill C-45 with Indigenous communities in mind. (Hill Times—Paywall)
Business
While nearly all major banks have shied away from funding MED producers in the past, TD Bank’s CEO Bharat Masrani said the bank would consider financing the sector after REC legalization. (Financial Post)
 
Germany is a desirable market for Canadian producers, but a German court has shut down tendering for cultivation licenses . While MED is legal in Germany, its stock of cannabis is produced externally , and Canadian companies have been in line to supply the country. (Financial Post, CanTech Letter)

Aphria closed a $425M deal to acquire Toronto’s Nuuvera . The acquisition was originally expected to cost $800M but falling cannabis stocks caused the value to plummet. (Financial Post)
  • Nuuvera posted little revenue and has no previously produced cannabis, but is well-connected internationally at a time when Aphria has been planning to expand outside of Canada.
  • On Tuesday, Nuuvera was renamed Aphria International, with the goal to develop the brand in Germany, Italy, and Australia. (Financial Post)
  • Bloggers identified potential conflicts of interest in the deal, and the Globe and Mail reported that “Aphria insiders participated in the initial financing round for Nuuvera.” (Seeking Alpha, Globe and Mail—paywall).
  • Aphria CEO Vic Neufeld said his company had done nothing wrong, stressing that the story was driven by self-declared short-seller bloggers who stood to profit from the company’s stock declining. (Windsor Star)
CannaRoyalty will acquire 100% of Rivers Distribution , which ships, warehouses, and negotiates contracts for cannabis in California , but does not produce it. California leaves the administration of cannabis to private companies, making Rivers Distribution an important player in that state’s large REC market. (Financial Post)
 
Mississauga MED producer Green Organic Dutchman raised $100M in its IPO . (Financial Post)
 
On the success of their Chalice Farms chain of Oregon MED shops, Toronto firm Golden Leaf Holdings has franchised the model to venture capital firm BlackShire Capital . That company intends to open stores across North America. (Globe and Mail)
 
Zenabis signed a letter of intent to become Pharmasave’s preferred MED supplier. (CBC News)
 
Alberta’s Sundial Growers announced it would supply 20M grams to BC’s Alliance of Beverage Licensees , representing the province’s private liquor industry (with membership includes industry suppliers, retailers, and bars). (Global NewsWire)
 
The Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission has awarded the $4.6M contract for developing and overseeing the provincial cannabis website to OnX Enterprise Solutions, an Ohio company. (Global News)
 
Toronto’s Supreme Cannabis announced a $10M investment in Medigrow Lesotho, a licenced producer in the Kingdom of Lesotho—the first African country to legalize MED. (NewsWire)
 
Edibles and oils may offer the greatest growth area for cannabis after REC legalization, Aurora vice-president Nick Whitehead told a business luncheon in Edmonton. (Edmonton Journal)
 
Vancouver beer and wine tourism operators are considering expanding into cannabis . (CBC British Columbia)
 
Murdered generic-pharmaceuticals billionaire Barry Sherman decided a year before his death to invest in developing extended-release pharmaceutical cannabis pills.
Other News
According to a study by the BC Centre on Substance Use, cannabis may slow down or discourage progression to harder drugs among at-risk youth—a reversal of the longstanding argument that cannabis is a “gateway” to hard drugs. (Globe and Mail)
 
As the Senate approaches impaired-driving Bill C-46, police and scientists have still not found a way to determine whether drivers are impaired by cannabis, because THC remains present in blood long after a person has sobered up.
 
Affordability remains a barrier to MED, which is often not covered by insurance. For that reason, scholar Jenna Valleriani argued, MED should not be taxed. (Ottawa Citizen)
Regina Police raided six dispensaries on Wednesday, though Best Buds Society’s owner Pat Warnecke reopened the next day. He said, “Of course we’re always worried they’ll come back again and raid us, but there’s no contingency plan in place to help sick people. That’s shameful.” (Regina Leader-Post)
 
Police in Hamilton have run out of storage for cannabis they have confiscated in dispensary raids. (Herb)
 
Montreal plans to open four provincial cannibis dispensaries accessible by public transportation, but not so close together that they will create a cannabis district. (ICI Radio-Canada—Article in French)
 
New Brunswick will offer financial support to those studying cannabis cultivation in the province’s French-language community college. (Global News)
 
Sports doping rules will not change along with cannabis laws, meaning athletes may continue to face suspensions for using REC. (CBC Nova Scotia)
 
Severe cannabis allergies can be life-threatening and hard to diagnose, and may become more noticeable after REC legalization. (CTV News)
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Bye,
Jesse

Advertising policy: Advertisers and contributors through Patreon have no influence on WeedWeek's editorial content or on the content of articles Alex Halperin and other WeedWeek contributors write for other publications. In an effort to replicate the separation of business and editorial operations practiced at reputable news organizations, a WeedWeek salesperson will be responsible for all sales-related contact with advertisers. All advertising queries sent to editorial staff will be referred to a salesperson. In all WeedWeek material, all ads and other forms of paid content are clearly distinguishable as such. WeedWeek editorial staff does not approach potential advertisers to solicit business, and reserves the right to reject ads if they present a conflict of interest, the appearance of a conflict of interest or for any other reason. Due to our small size, editorial staff may read ads on the podcast or provide editorial input on ads after they have been purchased.

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