As you kick off the week, here are five things making news in the cannabis industry:
- Legal recreational cannabis sales declined across the country in September, with New Brunswick charting one of the largest month-over-month drops, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. As the Financial Post reports, approximately $123 million in legal adult-use cannabis was sold across the country in September, down 2.4 per cent from $126 million in sales in August.
- The Ontario Cannabis Store has announced it will move ahead with a “hybrid” wholesale model that will allow the private sector to be involved in storing and distributing cannabis. As the Financial Post reports, the move comes in response to “feedback” provided from producers to the OCS, many of whom had demanded more involvement in the distribution of cannabis — which is now controlled solely by the OCS — to maximize cost efficiencies.
- The Manitoba government announced last week that it’s introducing legislation to prohibit the consumption of cannabis edibles in public places and to formalize the social responsibility fee that non-medical cannabis retailers are required to pay. The Thompson Citizen has the details.
- ICYMI: A new UBC study suggests cannabis could be a safer and more effective substitute for opioids in the treatment of chronic pain, but can it help fight the opioid crisis? CBC has more.
- Food for Thought: Edibles are on the way. The 60-day Health Canada review period for cannabis edibles, extracts and topical products is set to end in mid-December, so it won’t be long now before consumers can try all the new products licensed retailers are set to offer. The Toronto Sun has more on what Canadians can expect.
