• The costs related to a failed Q3 crop experiment to develop a more efficient cloning strategy by harvesting clones from later-stage mothers caused “an anomaly” in crop yields. An Eight Capital analyst said the loss was “an isolated event.”
  Globe and Mail, MarketWatch

Quick Hit

1. The federal minister of justice and the parliamentary secretary to the minister of border security and organized crime reduction, announced $11.5M funding over five years to support police in Quebec cracking down on drug-impaired driving.
   NewsWire

2. Researchers at Hamilton’s McMaster University found evidence recent cannabis use tends to erode memory and attention, slow the ability to process and form thoughts, and complicate motor skills.
   Canoe.com

• In an op-ed this week, he argued First Nations had developed a robust and reliable supply chain that was more efficient than that of licensed producers.
• “Unlike the tobacco industry where only a few become rich,” Day predicted, “we now have the opportunity to spread the wealth, which will improve the health and well-being of our communities.”

Quick Hits

1. Recent research from the University of British Columbia found “a high proportion” of residents in Vancouver’s impoverished Downtown East Side community use cannabis for medical purposes, even if they don’t officially buy MED.
   Botaniq

2. Some farmers are switching to hemp to capitalize on the CBD boom, but others caution the trend may pass quickly. In the meantime, they caution against planting a large plot of hemp unless they have a partnership with a processing plant.
   Calgary Herald

3. Vikings may or may not have grown and used cannabis when they occupied sites in Newfoundland between the 11th and 13th centuries.
   Ancient Origins

• When invoking “frenzy,” it’s worth bearing in mind what the pre-REC retail looked like in spring and summer of 2018: in May of last year, prospective retailers in Calgary were signing five- and ten-year leases on retail properties—sometimes at double the asking price—without even knowing whether they would get their licenses. Many were forced to wait for far longer than they’d anticipated .
  CBC Calgary

Quick Hits

1. In the U.S., cannabis beverages capture roughly 1% market share—and in Canada, roughly 75% of cannabis users have never consumed cannabis in a beverage.
   Globe and Mail

2. Cannabis patents are hot in Canada—but seven of the top ten patent holders in the country are multi-national pharma corporations, since cannabis remains a Schedule I substance in the US.
   Canna Law Blog

3. Legalization is partly responsible for a 38% increase in foreign tourists visiting Canada. They have a growing number of hotel options.
   Canada.com, Toronto Star

• “There’s always been an amount of skepticism about the Canadian industry’s compliance [from US banks],” said lawyer Patricia Olasker. “We have always pointed out that it is a highly regulated industry, with rigorous rules, and that this should be a great source of comfort…then CannTrust happens and it really shakes people’s confidence.”
  Globe and Mail
• Shares fell across the sector after the CannTrust news broke last week.
  The Straight
• The Globe interviewed Peter Aceto, CEO of CannTrust, who would not answer questions about what he knew about allegedly illegal activity in the company’s greenhouse.
  Globe and Mail
• Bloomberg briefly interviewed Aceto, who said, “I’m human. […] The focus is on getting this business back in compliance.”
  Bloomberg

• Danish company Stenocare said it had received five batches—rather than one “very small” batch—of product produced in the unlicensed grow rooms.
  Bloomberg
• Danish police are not investigating CannTrust, and the Danish Medicines Agency said their tests revealed the CannTrust cannabis was of standard quality and appears to pose no health risk.
  Twitter—Victor Ferreira

• Some analysts worry the CannTrust scandal may slow federal legalization in the U.S.
  Bloomberg
• The scandal will likely end Health Canada’s policy allowing growers to send in photo- and video-evidence packages as part of the application for site and room licenses. “Health Canada was trying to help the industry get licensed faster,” BC Independent Cannabis Association president Courtland Sandover-Sly said, “and [CannTrust] has taken a big dump on that.”
  Twitter

Quick Hits

1. Health Canada revoked Agrima’s licenses, following license suspensions that began last fall. So far Health Canada has said only that Agrima—a subsidiary of Ascent—was non-compliant with regulations, widely believed to have resulted from allowing its products to be sold in illicit dispensaries.
   CBC Business

2. Bruce Linton may not have been fired from Canopy because of the losses last quarter, but rather because Constellation didn’t like his way of doing business. It didn’t help that he routinely disparaged the liquor industry.
   The Star

3. Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded Aurora from “Buy” to “Neutral,” adding, despite “focus on profit […] it is burning cash and by our estimates could be cash negative by first quarter 2020 (absent financing).”
   MarketWatch

4. MYM Neutraceuticals’ $200M production facility in Weedon, QC, appears to be abandoned due to lack of Health Canada permits.
   La Presse—In French

• The strongest growth was in BC, Ontario, and Quebec, where the number of REC retailers is increasing. Provinces like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which haven’t opened new stores, have seen stable sales.
• Strategist Nick Pateras noted Quebec sales “grew the most in May on an absolute basis (+$3.5M) while Ontario retained its leading ~26% market share. National monthly sales of $85.6M means we now have a billion dollar industry at an annualized run rate.”
  Twitter
• Bloomberg‘s David George-Cosh noted seasonally adjusted cannabis sales since October, per Stats Can numbers, have now more than doubled since legalization.

Quick Hits

1. After announcing it would not carry clones, BC’s Liquor Distribution Branch said it didn’t yet open a call for producers to for infused cannabis products.
   MJ Biz Daily

2. Some MED users feel “elbowed out” of access since legalization.
   Huffington Post

3. Canopy’s venture capital firm Canopy Rivers, which has invested in 18 companies, posted a $1.8M Qloss.
   CTV News

4. Cronos moved to acquire an 84,000 GMP-compliant fermentation and manufacturing facility in Winnipeg previously owned by generic pharmaceutical giant Apotex. This facility will be able to produce large volumes of cultured cannabinoids.
   Yahoo Finance

• After initially not doing so during their raid on CAFE|Harbord last week due to low-hanging wires, the city and police installed the blocks this week. Then they went after CAFE’s other three locations and repeated the tactic. Twitter
• At CAFE’s Fort York boulevard location, police and bylaw enforcers apparently neglected to make certain the building was empty and trapped a sleeping man inside an upstairs bedroom.
  BlogTO
• Bylaw officers claimed the man was not sleeping, but had in fact broken into the shop after it had been raided. Firefighters returned to remove the concrete blocks and also to open the front door, which had been bolted shut.
  CTV News
• The concrete blocks now have their own Twitter account.

• Industry lawyer Harrison Jordan noted, “Individuals entering any CAFE location that has been closed could be subject to a charge under s. 18(3.1) of the Cannabis Control Act, a $100,000 fine and 1 year of prison. That’s where enforcement could go next.”
  Twitter
• To date, 70 charges have been laid against CAFE, who said in a statement that their dispensaries are necessary because REC retail in Ontario has been inadequate.
  Globe and Mail

• CAFE’s other partner keeps a low profile, perhaps partly because of his criminal record for fraud, forgery, and counterfeiting.
• Organigram VP Public Affairs Cameron Bishop railed against the scofflaws, saying, “The boldness [with] which the owners of CAFE continue to flout the law is astounding. Enforcement needs to be stepped up, products seized and tested and the owners charged. Unbelievable that this continues. […] We can’t pick and choose which laws we follow.”
• Facing Twitter criticisms, Bishop deleted the original post and apologized.Twitter

Quick Hits

1. Police in Dartmouth, NS raided the Atlantic Compassion Club for the second time in two weeks, charging five.
   Global News

2. An Edmonton social group hopes to attract professionals who like to get stoned together and make social outings.
   The Star

3. Threats of $700 fines didn’t keep people from smoking grass at the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
   CityNews

4. In the US, celebrities like Jay Z and Wiz Khalifia have joined the cannabis industry, following in the path of Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson. Canada’s tight advertising and sponsorship rules for cannabis make it all but impossible for Canadian LPs to profit from celebrity, however.
   Vice

• Morgan told public safety minister Ralph Goodale the First Nations dispensaries were competing with provincially regulated REC stores, and also because the province could not track what the dispensaries sold.
• Provinces do not have jurisdiction over First Nations, hence the call to Ottawa.
• Most are aware an RCMP raid First Nations cannabis businesses operating within regulations imposed by the Nations in question could escalate very quickly into something nobody wants, be it standoff, protracted conflict, or court case. Trudeau is a deeply unpopular figure across most First Nations and a federal raid could open up another front on which for Indigenous critics to attack him.
• Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Chief Cameron argued police should instead be focusing on illegal drugs and gangs. The First Nations dispensaries, he said, “are practicing and asserting their jurisdiction and sovereignty. They’re trying to create employment and generate revenue with what little they’ve got to improve some of the projects and housing on reserve.”

Quick Hits

1. Saskatchewan’s Country Thunder doesn’t ban cannabis, but requires attendees to follow the law banning cannabis smoking in places where tobacco can be smoked. Whether you’re going to Country Thunder or another summer music festival, Exclaim! has a guide to smoking cannabis at festivals from province to province.
   Global, Exclaim!

2. BC cannabis law explicitly prohibits REC retail employees from warning anyone about the presence cannabis enforcement officers. The text of the law, I kid you not, reads, “Actions such as announcing the arrival of inspectors, raising or flashing lights, turning down music, playing particular soundtracks (e.g. “Bad Boys” or “Hawaii Five O”), using spotlights, or any other similar actions are not permitted.”
   Leafly, Government of BC

3. It doesn’t matter whether the original plants were blessed by a rabbi, said other rabbis. “Kosher Kush” is not good name for a type of cannabis, even if cannabis isn’t a food product and therefore not subject to Jewish dietary law.
   The Leaf