Cannabis Professional’s daily roundup of industry news. View archive here.
Edmonton advances motion to discuss consumption lounges
The City of Edmonton unanimously passed a motion on Tuesday that takes the Alberta city one step closer to regulating cannabis lounges in early 2020, placing it on track to potentially become the first in Canada to permit them.
Edmonton Councillor Mike Nickel’s motion will be discussed at a meeting in February. The agenda will include a cross-jurisdiction scan of cannabis lounge regulations, economic benefits, and regulations. “This lounge conversation … is defining what’s going to be in that permitted use,” Mr. Nickel said.
“This is a big economic opportunity for Edmonton.”
Edmonton’s retail cannabis bylaw includes the ability to open cannabis lounges, primarily for the non-inhalable products that were legalized in October 2019, but these venues still need to be defined by the city before licences can be issued.
– Marcy Nicholson
KushCo launches hemp trading business
California-based KushCo Holdings, a producer of ancillary products and services to the legal cannabis and CBD industries, said Wednesday that has expanded its U.S. CBD footprint with the launch of a new hemp trading business focused on facilitating legally compliant hemp transactions for in-network, pre-qualified farmers and a pre-qualified buyer network. The Company has also entered into a partnership with a leader in U.S. industrial hemp farming, who will serve as a supplier for verified buyers. KushCo said its hemp-trading business is projected to generate more than US$25-million in revenue in fiscal 2020.
As part of its new hemp trading business, KushCo said it will be creating both spot- and long-term supply contracts to buy or sell legally compliant hemp biomass, crude CBD oil, CBD isolate, and CBD distillate. KushCo says its hemp-trading business will provide "transparency in the legal, hemp-derived CBD market for both buyers and sellers, eliminates multiple third parties within the sales process, guarantees quality of the supply chain, and mitigates risk while ensuring compliance."
- Staff
Cresco launches Illinois incubator for social equity applicants
Chicago-based multistate operator Cresco Labs Inc. announced Wednesday the official kickoff of its community impact incubator program in Illinois, which will be the next state to end the prohibition of cannabis on Jan. 1, 2020. The program is part of its SEED (Social Equity and Educational Development) initiative, and is designed to provide qualifying social equity applicants with the resources needed to successfully apply for dispensary licenses in the Illinois cannabis program. Cresco says it is currently working with 35 groups of applicants looking to establish businesses in the Illinois cannabis space and says it is committed to providing successful phase-one participants with financial support for their dispensary application fees. Once the state awards this round of successful applications, Cresco says it will select participants to incubate in every stage of the business process — from site selection, to regulation and compliance, as well as operational support to learn how to run their new cannabis businesses. Cresco Labs is one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States.
- Staff
Drake, Canopy partner on new company More Life
Canopy Growth Corp. and entertainer Drake announced Thursday they have entered into agreements to launch the More Life Growth Company, a licensed producer of cannabis based in Drake’s hometown of Toronto. Canopy says Drake will will hold a 60-per-cent stake in the newly formed company with Canopy owning the remaining 40 per cent. “The opportunity to partner with a world-class company like Canopy Growth on a global scale is really exciting,” Drake said. “The idea of being able to build something special in an industry that is ever growing has been inspiring.” The release said the More Life brand is centred around wellness, discovery and overall personal growth with the hope of facilitating connections and shared experiences across the globe.
- Staff