WTF OCS?
Police are investigating a retailer data breach at the Ontario Cannabis Store
In what Ontario Cannabis Store’s spokesperson is calling “a criminal matter,” police are investigating a potential theft of sensitive cannabis retailer data, per MJBizDaily.
The data includes:
- Sales details of every cannabis store in the province in December of 2021, including sales days, the amount of kilograms sold per day, total inventory at the start of the month and sell-through rates
- Store names and license numbers
- Which stores are independently owned or a franchise or corporate-owned
A letter was sent to retailers and reads, “This data was not disclosed by the OCS, nor have we provided any permission or consent to distribute or use this data outside of our organization.”
It’s particularly serious in light of how competitive the retail landscape is in Ontario. There are nearly 1,900 stores in the province. “Anybody who’s seen this now has an unfair competitive advantage, knowing what your neighbouring (store) is making,” said one retailer.
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SO, CAN WE GO TO VEGAS?
Working In Canadian cannabis doesn’t mean you can’t go to the US: Border Patrol
Being a Canadian cannabis worker doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t visit the US, according to a document that was shared recently by US Customs Border Protection through a Freedom of Information Act request by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, per Marijuana Moment.
The new information contradicts the lived experiences by those working in cannabis north of the border and previous advice shared by CBP in the past.
“If the alien is engaged in business in a marijuana business in Canada, where there is no commerce with the United States, that alone would likely not make an alien inadmissible,” reads the document. “This is true whether the alien is the proprietor, the cashier, or involved in other areas of the business wholly within Canada. However, depending on the nature of the alien’s employment, it may be appropriate to question the alien regarding the purpose and intent of their visit to the United States.”
HEARD IT BEFORE?
What’s the future of SAFE Banking without Rep. Ed Perlmutter?
Colorado Democrat and SAFE Banking’s biggest champion Rep. Ed Perlmutter is retiring, which means the future of federal banking reform could be in jeopardy, reports Rollcall.com.
Perlmutter, however, said he has hope for broader cannabis reform, which would fix a lot of the issues he’s been working toward in recent years with his focus on banking. That said, SAFE had far more support in the House than the MORE Act, a broader legalization bill.
“MORE is a broad bill, in effect legalizing cannabis at a federal level,” he said. “It has a research component, veterans and PTSD components, a taxation component, and expungement—all of which I support. I’m a co-sponsor. But I don’t know that there are enough votes in the Senate for it. I’m pretty confident there are enough votes for SAFE Banking, and maybe [you could] add research, maybe add some money to help district attorneys determine whose records should be expunged.”
GO PUBLIC
Grow Group is going public
UK-based Grow Group is planning an IPO in the next year, per BusinessCann. The company has medical cannabis operations in the UK, Spain and Germany.
Via a partnership with Nimbus Health, Grow will launch its own medical brand in the German market.
The plan is to remain focused on medical. “We think our mission is very specific,” said CEO Ben Langley. “It isn’t rec and isn’t wellness, our mission is to treat patients with prescribed medicines, so that’s what we are doing”.
