Cannabis Professional’s daily roundup of industry news. View archive here.
Mississauga may opt-in to cannabis retail: report
The mayor of Mississauga - Canada’s sixth-largest city - says she will take another look at allowing cannabis retail stores to open, nearly a year after council voted to opt-out. Mississauga.com reports that Bonnine Crombie was “very startled” by the number of illegal cannabis businesses in the city immediately west of Toronto. Mississauga and 75 other Ontario municipalities opted-out of retail cannabis before the Jan. 22, 2019, deadline. Cities that opted-out always had the option of re-entering the retail sector, but cities that had approved cannabis retail do not have the option to quit. Ms. Crombie told Mississauga that council will try to revisit the issue early in the new year.
– Staff
Charlotte’s Web revenue jumps in Q3
Charlotte’s Web Holdings, Inc., which specializes in CBD products extracted from hemp, today reported third-quarter 2019 revenue of US$25.1-million, an increase of 41.8 per cent over Q3 2018. The company reported that B2C ecommerce sales increased 38.7 per cent, and B2B retail sales increased 66.4 per cent. It said a gross margin of 71.3 per cent produced gross profit of $17.9-million. “In an increasingly crowded, noisy and confusing CBD market, brands matter, and Charlotte’s Web is the most trusted hemp extract in the world,” said Deanie Elsner, Chief Executive Officer of Charlotte’s Web. “Consumers are becoming more informed about product ingredients."
- Staff
New Mexico sizes up potential of recreational pot market
Legislators in New Mexico are sizing up the potential taxable market for recreational marijuana if the state moves forward with legalization proposals next year. A panel of state lawmakers is scheduled Wednesday to hear testimony on the potential economic benefits of bringing recreational cannabis sales under state regulation and oversight. Troy Lapsys of medical cannabis manufacturer PhytoRemedies in Albuquerque estimates statewide illicit marijuana sales at about US$450-million annually. That is more than four times the size of New Mexico’s current market for medical cannabis. New Mexico’s medical cannabis program was started in 2007 and serves more than 70,000 registered patients.
- Associated Press
Freedom Cannabis inaugurates production facility with large solar system
Licensed producer (LP) Freedom Cannabis Inc. said on Tuesday that it inaugurated its facility in Alberta that will use energy from a large rooftop solar system that will offset more than 1,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
The Acheson, Alta. cultivation facility has 4,574 solar modules with a maximum capacity of 1,830 kilowatts. With expectations for this to offset 1,041 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in the 126,000 square-foot facility each year, it will supply about 8 per cent of the building’s annual power consumption and cut electricity costs by roughly $200,000 to $300,000 over a 12-month period, Freedom Cannabis said.
The LP, which is 20 kilometres west of Edmonton, expects its crops will first reach the market in December.
- Marcy Nicholson