Canada legalizes cannabis: October 17th, 2018

[Bagseed]

yeah I suffer from the occasional panic attack and hence keep my cannabis doses pretty low, but 10mg orally sounds pretty doable even for me, lol

 

[Thomas Davie]

Imagine this 10 mg chocolate bar with 10 pieces. That’s a whopping 1 mg per piece. I’ve got no problem with having low dose edibles such as this, but to restrict it to this is just plain wrong. I hope it ends up being something sensible such as a 10 mg/piece, 100 mg/bar limit (because they are going to impose limits).

Tom

 

[S.J.B.]

I feel like there's a good chance they will change the 10-mg-per-package limit if they get enough e-mails criticising it. I think I will send one in and encourage you all to do so as well! I will focus on how it will actually increase harm by pushing heavier users towards smoking and away from oral use.

 

[S.J.B.]

Canadians bought $43M worth of marijuana in the first 2 weeks after legalization
CBC
December 21st, 2018

Statistics Canada says sales at cannabis stores in the two weeks after legalization totalled $43 million.

The agency started collecting data for in-store and online sales from cannabis retailers as of Oct. 17, when fresh or dried bud, oil, plants and seeds became legal for recreational use in the country.

...

Ontario led the way with more than $11 million in sales, with Quebec just behind at more than $10 million.

After that:

- Alberta: $5.6 million.
- Nova Scotia: $4.5 million.
- British Columbia: $2.3 million.
- New Brunswick: $2.1 million.
- Newfoundland and Labrador: $1.7 million.
- Prince Edward Island: $1.4 million.
- Saskatchewan: $341,000.

Data for Nunavut was unavailable, and figures for Manitoba, Yukon and Northwest Territories were withheld, citing privacy concerns. Despite its small population, P.E.I. sold more pot per capita than any other province, with more than $8 worth of marijuana sold in those two weeks for every person in the province.

Read the full story here.

Graph of cannabis sales per capita by province:

NSFW:

 

[Yourbaker]

Once again I'm shocked by how open the questionnaire really was. Most questions seemed more concerned with making special rules so those must be to help guide money into pockets but overall at least there was ample opportunity to repeatedly point out the high level of fear is unwarranted.

10mg edibles is hilarious. I'd get so fat from cookies before I even got a feeling of taking anything. Someday in the future the people who wrote that idea down thinking it was serious will get to laugh at themselves.

 

[S.J.B.]

I think I will send one in and encourage you all to do so as well! I will focus on how it will actually increase harm by pushing heavier users towards smoking and away from oral use.

I just filled out Health Canada's feedback questionnaire and made sure to harp on the 10-milligram-per-package limit for edibles. You can access the questionnaire here!

 

[S.J.B.]

Ontario announces winners of cannabis retail lottery, no known names emerge victorious
Vanmala Subramaniam
Financial Post
January 12th, 2019

Ontario has announced the results of its much-anticipated cannabis retail lottery, naming 25 companies that are now eligible to begin applying for a licence to operate a brick-and-mortar pot shop in the province.

Absent from the list of 25 were any known cannabis retail brands such as The Friendly Stranger and National Access Cannabis -- the latter already operates a number of cannabis retail shops across the country.

Among the companies randomly selected by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) were Pure Alpha Holdings, Tripsetter Inc., CGS Foods Inc., and The Niagara Herbalist.

A majority of the 25 lottery winners appeared to be individuals, as opposed to corporations -- sole proprietorships made up 64 per cent of the overall applications submitted, according to the AGCO, while on 33 per cent were registered corporations.

In the region of Toronto for instance, lottery winners were listed as Heather Conlon, Seyedarash Seyedameri, Colin Campbell, Dana Michele Kendal and Hunny Gawri.

Read the full story here.

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Cannabis supply chain difficulties expected to subside: Health Canada
Angela Stelmakowich
The GrowthOp
January 16th, 2019

The supply chain difficulties that have hit some cannabis retailers and distributors hard--cited by the Ontario government as a main driver in its decision to temporarily limit retail licences to 25--are expected to ease in time and were anticipated, says a Health Canada spokesperson.

"It is expected that as the market stabilizes, the supply chain difficulties currently being experienced by provincial and territorial retailers and distributors will dissipate and that localized and product-specific shortages will become far fewer in number," Tammy Jarbeau, senior media relations advisor serving Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, notes in a recent email to The GrowthOp.

"Health Canada is aware of reports of localized shortages of cannabis products in some markets and for some product lines," Jarbeau says, but reiterates what Health Canada has said for some time: supply exceeds sales.

Federal inventory exceeds supply

The latest figures out of Ottawa--federal licence-holders and provincial and territorial public bodies must report information to Health Canada by the 15th of each month through the Cannabis Tracking System--show total sales of cannabis for medical and non-medical purposes during the previous month.

Specifically, the figures show total sales of dried cannabis as of Nov. 30 increased 22 percent to 8,872 kg from October. Total sales of cannabis oil climbed 14 percent to 7,805 litres month over month, note the figures released late on Jan. 15.

Read the full story here.