As you kick off the week, here are five things making news in the cannabis industry:
- New Blog: Week 1: A Recap of Ontario’s Debut into Legal Cannabis Retail. After months of speculation and anticipation, Canada’s largest province opened its doors to legal cannabis retail stores on April 1. Here are the highs and lows of Week 1.
- Ontario is introducing changes to how cannabis is sold across the province, including lifting the cap of 25 retail stores and providing $40-million over two years to help implement the costs of recreational cannabis. As Global News reports, the government is also calling on the federal government to take steps in addressing the national cannabis supply shortage to ensure there is an adequate and predictable supply of recreational cannabis from licensed producers.
- Research news: Canadian cannabis company Tetra Bio Pharma collaborates to find treatment for a type of cancer that took the lives of Senator John McCain and singer Gordon Downey. As the Regina Leader-Post reports, the collaboration agreement will lead to targeted delivery of cannabinoids to brain tumor cells.
- The number of injured veterans using medical cannabis has skyrocketed, according to Veterans Affairs Canada, while opioid use has decreased. As CTV reports, in the last five years, payouts for veterans’ opioid prescriptions for fentanyl have dropped 85 per cent, while payouts for oxycodone have dropped by 75 per cent.
- Food for Thought: Legalization has caused the price of cannabis to increase by about 17 per cent but people who are buying it legally are paying about 57 per cent more than black market buyers. As CBC reports, Statistics Canada says the price has jumped most in New Brunswick and least in B.C.
