#cannabis2.0

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Legal Cannabis Market Outpaces Illegal Market

Stats Canada Show the Legal Cannabis Market Has Higher Sales Than Black Market Cannabis – LPC Canada has hit what one journalist calls a “significant milestone”. For the first time since legalization, spending in the legal cannabis market is higher than the illegal market. According to Stats Canada, legal cannabis amounted to $803 million versus $785 million for black market cannabis in the second quarter of 2020. The legal cannabis stats include both medical and recreational cannabis. Tarek Shbib, who owns the Spiritleaf in Kelowna, is not surprised. “I think it shows that the legal market has matured to a point where consumers now consider it the norm when looking to purchase cannabis products,” Shbib said. Consumers also see safety in some of the more complex Cannabis 2.0 products. “Products like these are not easy to produce safely, and so our customers appreciate that when they come to our stores, they know the product they go home with is safe and has been tested and made in a facility approved by Health Canada,” he said. Gap Should Only Widen BC itself seems to be the epitome of the battle between the legal cannabis market and the illegal market. From the beginning, BC had the lowest legal cannabis sales in Canada. Today though, there are signs of change. Stats in June showed the “thriving illegal cannabis market” in Vancouver was anything but. In August, sales showed legal cannabis sales in BC increased by seven fold over 2019. Read the full article

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Cannabis 2.0 Products | How will Canopy Growth & OrganiGram Benefit? | Marijuana Stocks https://youtu.be/BOJtInXaddo

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Largest Cannabis Gummy Factory in Canada to Open

Dynaleo in Edmonton Aims to Fill the Gap in Edibles Demand – LPC Dynaleo, an edible producer in Edmonton, is set to open Canada’s largest cannabis gummy factory. It received its Health Canada processing licence on June 19.  Dynaleo’s executive chairman Michael Krestell said the company is doing its last preparations before starting production. “We’ve been very active in the facility commissioning our equipment and so we are just in the final stages of training on that equipment,” Krestell said. “Then it’s all up and running.” There are currently 30 people working in the facility as the company prepares the building and starts processing. Krestell said he expects a total of 75 jobs will be created during peak production. The cannabis gummy factory itself is a 26,000-square-foot manufacturing plant near the Edmonton International Airport. “We are solely focused on edibles and we’re doing edibles on an industrial scale, which is something that everybody else in cannabis, or specifically in gummy production in Canada, is unable to do now,” Krestell said. “Some market estimates are pointing to a gap between industrial supply and consumer demand of approximately 80 million packaged units a year.” Gummies and other edibles became legal in Canada on October 17, 2019, along with vapes, beverages, and topicals. However, the 60-day review process meant that edibles didn’t hit the market until late December. Cannabis 2.0 Read the full article

[licensedproducers]

CannaPiece Corp. – LP Spotlight

Medical Sales Licence Complements Growing Presence in Industry – LPC

When CannaPiece Corp. received its Medical Sales and Processing licences from Health Canada, it was another piece of a bigger puzzle. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the CannaPiece Group, which already owns medical cannabis clinics in Ontario including in Ajax, Bowmanville, and Cobourg. These clinics, called Greenzone Therapy, provide advice on medical cannabis and help people register. Now, CannaPiece Corp. will be able fulfil those prescriptions. “Greenzone Therapy is (here) to help the community,” said CEO Ray Rasouli at the opening of their Cobourg location. (Please see link below to the original article.) The clinics help patients learn how to use cannabis, including what not to do, Rasouli said. “If used properly, it can help a lot of people with the medical conditions they have.” According to a recent press release, CannaPiece Corp. can now process cannabis and hemp in their 50,000-square-foot facility in Pickering, Ont. The company will also provide third-party processing for other licensed producers (LPs) in Canada. “The licence marks only the beginning for our company,” Rasouli said. “We are excited by the opportunity to work with licensed producers whose visions align with ours: to deliver high calibre cannabis products to consumers."

CannaPiece Corp. to Embrace Cannabis 2.0 Products – LPC

CannaPiece Corp. will provide a wide range of cannabis products including Cannabis 2.0 products, the company said. “The Pickering facility will provide complete solutions for licensed producers seeking top-of-the-line services,” the press release said. These include, “R&D, product development, third-party processing, flower packaging, large-scale extraction, production of edibles, topicals, and concentrates as well as white-labelled products to both domestic and international markets.” "We have been waiting anxiously for our licence and are ready to play a significant role in the newly established legal Cannabis 2.0 market," Rasouli said. CannaPiece Corp. also plans to grow cannabis with its Micro-cultivation licence. The company starts operations just when Ontario's cannabis market is starting to grow. This editorial content from the LPC News Team provides analysis, insight, and perspective on current news articles. To read the source article this commentary is based upon, please click on the link below. Click here to view full story at www.northumberlandnews.com Read the full article

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Cannabis Retail Chains Ready for Banner Year

“I’m Really Glad 2019 is Over” Says High Tide CEO – LPC

Cannabis retail chains see fewer obstacles ahead for 2020 and expect a larger roll-out of stores. Several larger ones sat on a panel hosted by AltaCorp Capital in Toronto last week. The event was part of ATB Financial capital market division’s annual investor conference. “I’m really glad 2019 is over,” said High Tide CEO Raj Grover during the panel. (Please see link to full article below.) “We learned a lot of valuable lessons.” Meta Growth CEO Mark Goliger joked that he learned to assume that “government is not going to get it right.” That was mostly a shot at Ontario’s cannabis lottery system. The province announced in December though that the Ontario retail cannabis market was finally opening up, which added to the optimism in the room. Financing was top of mind for Fire & Flower CEO Trevor Fencott. He said the high-flying stocks of 2018 returned to earth in 2019, making financing difficult for everyone including cannabis retail chains. “There was a lot of access to growth capital, and all of a sudden it completely dried up,” Fencott said. “I think the biggest lesson that we can take from 2019 is to focus a lot more on profitability.” The three cannabis retail chains together oversee over 100 stores across the country; all three plan to grow their storefronts.

Ontario is Key for Cannabis Retail Chains – LPC

Ontario, by far the most populous province in Canada, is key for cannabis retail chains. At last count, the province had only 27 cannabis stores for a population of over 14 million. Meanwhile, Alberta’s cannabis retailers number around 300 for a third of the population. Ontario’s Ford government has been blamed for disappointing retail sales. Companies such as Canopy Growth and Aurora Cannabis called Ontario out directly as a factor in their weak year-end numbers. Now that Ontario seems to be truly “open for business” in the cannabis market, cannabis retail chains are ready to pounce. Analyst Justin Keywood from Stifel said he expects Fire & Flower’s sales to almost triple in 2020. “We expected a move to a more privatized model in Ontario, and see Fire & Flower as being a large beneficiary with already 13 strategic lease locations in high traffic areas (mainly in Toronto) ready to go,” Stifel said. Fire & Flower expects to have 131 locations in place in 2021. Similarly, Meta Growth plans to open 90 locations by the end of 2020, more than doubling their current number of stores. With the strength of Cannabis 2.0 products, anything is possible in the Canada’s cannabis market. But it seems there’s a lot to be optimistic about for cannabis retail chains in 2020. This editorial content from the LPC News Team provides analysis, insight, and perspective on current news articles. To read the source article this commentary is based upon, please click on the link below. Click here to view full story at ca.finance.yahoo.com Read the full article

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Ontario Cannabis Store Rapidly Sells Out of Edibles

The Ontario Cannabis Store rapidly ran out of edibles within hours of launch on Thursday, but it is confident supply will improve soon. #marijuana #ontario #cannabis Read the full article

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Olli Brands Inc. – LP Spotlight

New Cannabis Edibles Producer with New Ideas - LPC

Olli Brands Inc. doesn’t seem to be your average food manufacturer – or cannabis edibles producer, for that matter. According to its website, the Toronto-based company will offer “carefully curated, premier cannabis-infused goods”. It became one step closer to that goal last week when it received its Health Canada processing licence. "Receiving our Standard Processing Licence is a huge milestone for Olli Brands and the culmination of years of hard work by our team," said John Aird, co-founder and CEO, in a press release. "We are thrilled to be able to begin production." (Please see link to full press release below.) Olli plans to enter the Cannabis 2.0 market selling branded and private label (sold to other companies to brand themselves) teas and edibles. "When we founded the company, we did so with a vision to bring approachable and high-quality cannabis-infused goods to the Canadian consumer,” said Sarah Gillin, Olli co-founder and COO. “We are very excited to be on the verge today of realizing that dream." Of course, “premier” is in the eye of the beholder – or in this case, the taster. Until the product is out and the reviews are in, we can only speculate. But the signs look good. Olli features an “award-winning chef who trained at Michelin-starred restaurants” along with a “world-renowned tea sommelier”. The company began developing products after it received its research licence in July 2019. On the production side, Olli opened an 11,200-square-foot processing facility in Etobicoke, just outside Toronto. It already announced that it partnered with MediPharm Labs for its cannabis extract.

What’s Next for Olli? – LPC

Olli is now in the process of securing a sales licence to be able to sell its cannabis edibles. According to the press release: “Olli Brands has been working towards securing distribution agreements with various national and independent authorized provincial retailers... The company is optimistic that Canadians will soon be able to purchase their branded and private label goods at authorized provincial retailers across the country.” Olli revealed a few of its new products including a Strawberry Fruit Chew, Rich Vanilla Black Tea, and Chocolate Hemp Crunch. “We stand behind our products and aim to create a trusted product experience meant to be enjoyable, responsible and safe,” Olli states on its website. “Created by friends, for friends.” Click here to view full story at www.prnewswire.com Read the full article

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Constellation Brands Still Bullish on Canadian Cannabis Market

US Partner to Canopy Growth Says Black Market Cannabis is Shrinking – LPC

The Canadian cannabis market made news once again south of the border. Constellation Brands announced its third-quarter earnings with net income of US$366.5 million. That’s after a US$71.1 million loss due to Canopy Growth. But despite losses, Constellation CEO Bill Newlands said the company is optimistic of its long-term plan. “We remain bullish on the Canadian cannabis market as the conversion of the illicit market to the legal market continues to strengthen,” he said. Newlands also said that incoming Canopy CEO David Klein would bring “more focus and discipline” to the company. Canopy announced in December that Klein, who was the CFO at Constellation, would take over from interim Mark Zekulin. The move sparked speculation of an all-out takeover bid from Constellation. Ousted ex-co-CEO Bruce Linton also floated the possibility that Constellation would break up the company. It would sell all but Canopy’s cannabis beverage division. Canopy recently unveiled its new bottling facility to produce five million cannabis beverages per month for the Canadian cannabis market. Newlands also commented on Canopy’s other Cannabis 2.0 products. Besides cannabis beverages, these include cannabis vapes and cannabis edibles. Interestingly, the CNBC article states that Canopy’s “cannabis-infused beverages” are “made with Constellation.” (Please see link to full article below.)

Canadian Cannabis Market Undergoes Changes – LPC

One of the key takeaways from the CNBC article is its approach. It reads like Canopy Growth is a division of Constellation, not just a partner. That could be American media bias. We saw this last year when Reuters reported upticks in cannabis stocks. US media speculated it was due to a Congressional sub-committee. In fact, it was more likely due to Doug Ford’s announcement that day that Ontario would remove cannabis retail roadblocks. But it could also be a sign of a changing Canadian cannabis market. Initially, Canadian cannabis companies were seen as being in the best position to enter the US cannabis market. Aurora Cannabis, for example, was investigating ways of entering the US market through US companies. Meanwhile, Mad Money’s Jim Cramer also gave his vote of confidence – albeit with more American media bias. “While Constellation has turned Canopy Growth into a powerhouse, it’s really a nice house in a really ugly neighbourhood.” But that doesn’t mean sell, Cramer said. “I think this company’s too good to be written off. At some point, the cannabis industry will be worth dominating.” Either way though, it’s also a sign that the Canadian cannabis market should strengthen soon. Canopy used to be the same as Tilray, which chooses market expansion over profits. With both powerhouses squaring off using different strategies, we’ll get to see which approach works best. This editorial content from the LPC News Team provides analysis, insight, and perspective on current news articles. To read the source article this commentary is based upon, please click on the link below. Click here to view full story at www.cnbc.com Read the full article