It was a week when much of the Canadian cannabis sector descended on Vancouver for the Lift&Co. Expo, but not without some Twitter controversy.

It was also a week when Canada’s largest province started rolling out Cannabis 2.0 products to retailers and consumers. While the world is dealing with a ton of horrible situations right now, impacts from 2.0 products are not among them.

We have some new podcasts dropping this week too – including On A High Season 2, Minnesota Cannabis Conversations and stay tuned for BofC Live later this week recorded with the team at the Village Bloomery in Vancouver.

Read on…

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From the US

As we head into week two of our first US-focused podcast (Minnesota Cannabis Conversations), let’s start with the US:

The US Congress will have two hearings next week on legalization. Follow Marijuana Moment for all the details. 

In less important news, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a campaign ad standing in a field of hemp…

It looks as if New York will get its act together on legalization this year – at least if you believe Governor Cuomo. (Recall his Democratic challenger last year offered up a bong for contributions…) 

And if this doesn’t tell you all about the momentum of cannabis in the US: Mississippi voters will get their crack at legalization this year. 

Illinois saw $11 million in cannabis sales in the first five days of the month. 

From Canada

With all that good news from the US, it’s time to come back to reality in Canada.

Canada, and Ontario more specifically, is in dire need of more cannabis retailers. But fear not, more are on the horizon. The first step of new licensing started last week – and leading law firm Torkin Mane is having an event next month to help new would-be retailers learn the landscape. Join us…

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Aurora is unlikely to meet projections, according to (at least) one analyst. Organigram has been downgraded by an analyst as well. TGOD also had a leadership “consolidation” last week as well. Zenabis laid off 40 folks last week. And… more leadership changes at Supreme – CEO out, interim-CEO in. ‍‍Aphria vape pens are leaking and have been re-called. 

If all this news has you shaking your head about what’s ahead, come to Leaf Forward this month to hear from three industry leaders about all things 2020: John Prentice/Ample Organics, Mimi Lam/Superettre, Sarah Gillin/Olli Brands…

While Lift&Co. received some backlash (on Twitter) about one of their Expo installations racial insensitivity – Omar Khan from H+K wrote in The Growth Op about the need for inclusive leadership in the sector. 

On the plus side of the Canadian cannabis equation: beer sales are down 3 percent post-legalization. 

From Business of Cannabis…