What’s Up in Weed

April 11, 2017

By: Andrea Hill

I am pleased to bring you this instalment of What’s Up in Weed, rounding up what’s currently happening in the cannabis industry in Canada and abroad.

The moment we’ve all been waiting for: recreational cannabis bill expected this week

• This is it!  All eyes are on the federal Liberal government, which is expected to unveil draft recreational cannabis legislation this Thursday April 13.  We will keep you posted on this long-awaited and historic development.

Free trade of cannabis?  Not yet.

• On Friday, the federal government and all provinces and territories revealed the Canada Free Trade Agreement.  Under the Agreement, provinces agree not to restrict or prevent the movement of goods across provincial or territorial boundaries, with a significant list of exceptions.

• The Agreement expressly does not apply to “non-medical cannabis”.  However, it does oblige the provinces and Ottawa to “commence negotiations” regarding the applicability of the Agreement once a recreational cannabis law is enacted. 

• The Canada Free Trade Agreement taps into a legal discourse on intra-provincial trade which has risen to the Supreme Court of Canada.  A New Brunswick court recently found that a provincial law restricting the amount of alcohol residents could import was an unconstitutional trade barrier.  If applied across the country, the decision could significantly affect the ability of provinces to govern the flow of goods over their borders.  The parties have sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.  The Supreme Court has yet to announce whether it will hear the appeal.

Cannabis Culture heads to the vultures

• Cannabis Culture dispensaries are shutting down.  Established by the self-styled “Prince of Pot” Marc Emery and his wife Jodie, Cannabis Culture is one of the most widespread Canadian dispensary brands, with locations in Toronto, Hamilton, Montreal, Vancouver, and Port Coquitlam, BC.  The Emerys were recently arrested on drug charges and closing Cannabis Culture was part of their bail conditions. 

• Jodie Emery attributed the shutdowns to the federal government’s support of licensed producers over activists who had taken on great risk in opening illegal dispensaries.  In an interview with CBC, I pointed out that LPs – whose backers have also taken great risks – have nothing to do with it.  Dispensaries are being closed because they are illegal.  We blogged about the full CBC article on this subject here.

“Unicanns”: Aphria and Aurora hit $1B valuations

• Share values of public cannabis-oriented companies have jumped in anticipation of news that recreational legislation is on its way.

• By Monday April 10, Aphria and Aurora Cannabis Inc. had become the second and third licensed producers, after Canopy Growth Corporation, to crack a $1 billion market capitalization, a class of business which in the tech world is known as a “unicorn”, and in the cannabis industry, as of this blog post, is known as a “unicann”. 

Recreational cannabis to be sold at Uruguay pharmacies by July

• Reuters reports that the government of Uruguay has announced it will authorize pharmacies to begin selling recreational cannabis to citizens in July, 2017.  The move would be the final step in implementing recreational cannabis laws passed in 2013. 

• Sixteen pharmacies have registered to sell cannabis in the country of 3.4 million people; that number is expected to increase to 30 in the coming months.  International Cannabis Corp., a TSXV-listed company, has operations in Uruguay.

What will they think of next: trim-bots are a thing

• Business Insider has published an interesting article about a new robot which trims cannabis buds of undesired leaves.  Cannabis trimming is typically done by hand and is meticulous work, and can be a source of jobs in communities which host LP facilities.  Bloom Automation, which produces the machine, estimates that a 5,000 square foot cultivation space would require two robots and may run a producer north of US$40,000.

What’s Up in Weed is not legal or financial advice. It is a blog which is made available by SkyLaw for informational purposes and should not be used as a substitute for professional advice from a lawyer. This blog is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without our permission.

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