Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — The sale of legalized recreational marijuana in Canada, which has already been pushed back once beyond the planned July start date, is set to be delayed even further, government officials said Thursday. The ruling Liberals are sparring with the upper Senate chamber, where a draft law is currently under review. Critics […] Read more
Recreational marijuana sales in Canada face fresh delays
Weed firms again urged to disclose U.S. risks
Reading Time: 2 minutes Toronto | Reuters — Canadian regulators on Thursday reiterated their call for listed cannabis producers with U.S. businesses to clearly disclose risks of operating there, and warned of potential punishment if U.S. federal anti-marijuana laws are more strictly enforced. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) staff notice said stricter U.S. enforcement could result in “material consequences […] Read more
Marijuana can only go on sale months after federal law passes
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Recreational marijuana in Canada will only go on sale a few months after it is legalized later this year because the new retail system needs time to start working properly, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said Tuesday. The Liberal government says the new law must be in place by July 1 […] Read more
Ontario pot firm Aphria selling U.S. stake
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ontario marijuana company Aphria said on Friday it agreed to sell its minority stake in U.S.-based Copperstate Farms to Liberty Health Sciences for $20 million. Boards of Aphria and Liberty have unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter. Aphria has been looking to hive off its business […] Read more
Cannabis firm Aphria mulls sale of U.S. unit
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Canadian cannabis company Aphria said Thursday it was exploring “strategic alternatives,” including a sale, for its U.S. business, amid tightening enforcement of federal cannabis laws in the country. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice revoked an Obama administration policy that discouraged federal prosecutors from pursuing marijuana-related crimes in states that had […] Read more
Ontario medical marijuana producers plan major merger
Reading Time: 2 minutes A southwestern Ontario greenhouse firm billed as one of Canada’s lowest-cost medical marijuana producers plans to expand its reach by buying a rival firm sourcing cannabis worldwide for processing. Aphria Inc., based at Leamington, Ont., announced Monday it has locked in a cash-and-stock deal to buy Toronto-based Nuuvera Inc. for $826 million. The deal, expcted […] Read more
Canadians spent $5.7 billion on cannabis in 2017
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Canadians spent an estimated $5.7 billion on cannabis in 2017, Statistics Canada said on Thursday, with the country on track to legalize recreational use of the drug nationwide later this year. About 4.9 million Canadians between the ages of 15 to 64 purchased both medical and non-medical cannabis last year, the […] Read more
Aurora, CanniMed to form Canadian weed giant
Reading Time: 2 minutes Two major players in the Canadian medical marijuana market are set to create one of the world’s biggest pot production firms in a friendly $1.1 billion cash-and-stock deal. Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis announced an agreement Wednesday in which it will ante up on its previous hostile bid for CanniMed Therapeutics and buy all the shares of […] Read more
Cannabis firm Aurora in talks to buy both CanniMed, Newstrike
Reading Time: 2 minutes Toronto | Reuters — Canadian marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis is in talks with rivals CanniMed Therapeutics and Newstrike Resources to buy both businesses in a friendly deal that would create the nation’s top weed company, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. The deal signals an easing of tensions following an offer in […] Read more
CanniMed asks regulators to step in on hostile bid
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Medical marijuana company CanniMed Therapeutics has asked federal regulators to intervene as it seeks to prevent a hostile takeover by bigger rival Aurora Cannabis Inc. Saskatoon-based CanniMed said Monday it asked the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan and the Ontario Securities Commission to declare that Aurora’s move to take its buyout […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
