We told you we’d be back!
Not everyone on the Canadian cannabis landscape made it to 2020, however. Since we last wrote, there were notable C-Suite departures, significant layoffs and big write downs.
But not all is bad.
Cannabis 2.0 starts in Ontario this week – and Business of Cannabis is still up, running and going strong:
- We’ve partnered with Leaf Forward for an event at the end of this month featuring John Prentice of Ample Organics, Mimi Lam of Superette and Sarah Gillin of Olli Brands.
- Today, we launch a new podcast focused on the emerging cannabis industry in Minnesota – Minnesota Cannabis Conversations.
- Season 2 of On A High launches today with hosts Michelle Bilodeau and Donna Bishop.
- And finally… BofC Live podcasts recorded from MJBizCon 2019 – starting with Chris Walsh, the newly-named CEO of Marijuana Business Daily.
Continue to stay tuned, because all month we’ll be sharing our Business of Cannabis 2020 game plan.
Happy 2020 and as always, read on…
– The Business of Cannabis Team
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Cam Battley is no longer at Aurora in this role as Chief Corporate Officer. He has moved out of that role and into a Board seat at MedReleaf Australia. (Aurora stock also hit a 52-week low while you were on vacation…) Speaking of unloading at Aurora, their facility in Exeter, Ontario is up for sale.
HEXO has had a tough run since we’ve been away. They moved their headquarters from Quebec across the river for insurance reasons and they have written down all their cannabis trim. Not to be left out of the public markets’ crisis – HEXO is issuing stock at a 14 percent discount.
After turfing their CEO, in order to help right the ship Zenabis has hired a new CFO.
Facing a cash crunch, Pure Global Cannabis laid off staff since last we wrote.
To Lift&Co.’s tough news. While not a cultivator, still a public company facing a cash crunch. Laid of roughly 25 percent of their staff right before the holidays. (Enjoy Vancouver everyone!)
Tilray announced their first shipment of cannabis to be sold Israel, a milestone of sorts.
All that negative news, but lots of positives too.
Cannabis 2.0 has arrived in earnest.
Ontario’s 2.0 products will hit shelves this week – and the Business of Cannabis team was at the Ontario Cannabis Store last week to take a look. Here’s what we learned:
Finally, something Ontario is getting right (2.0 products) but Alberta is getting (sort of) wrong: vapes. Not hitting shelves just yet.
Want to find out more about what the 2020 outlook is for the Canadian cannabis industry? Join us:
To the US, where the Midwest’s first state went legal: Illinois. As they did that, 11,000 cannabis pardons followed thanks to Governor Pritzker.
Hemp is now huge business in the US – with the number of acres under cultivation 100 times greater than 5 years ago. That said, there are still interstate legal issues. Friend of Business of Cannabis, Jason Tarasek of Minnesota Cannabis Law chime in with Business of Cannabis to explain. (Also, check out Episode 1 of Minnesota Cannabis Conversations.)
For the Trump/cannabis people – Trump wants to ignore whatever Congress does on medical cannabis.
New Jersey voters will try to do what their legislature could not do: legalize. Cannabis will be on that state’s ballot this year.
To the non-North American scene…
New Zealand is heading toward cannabis quickly.
Italy is allowing home growing for patients.
And finally, your moment of Zen. In its first year of Massachusetts legal cannabis sales – retailers reported a total of $420 million of sales.
