As you kick off the week, here are five things making news in the cannabis industry:
- New Blog: Cannabis & Black Communities: Inclusivity and Social Justice are Key; This week NICHE held an important dialogue in Toronto to explore the impacts of cannabis legalization on black communities. One of the key takeaways was the need for more meaningful collaborations and corporate social responsibility efforts.
- ICYMI: Ontario is considering alternative cannabis distribution models and intends to launch a consultation process in the coming weeks, according to sources familiar with the matter. As CTV reports, this comes after the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp., which handles online sales and wholesale distribution of recreational pot and operates as the Ontario Cannabis Store, earlier this month said it lost $42 million in the latest fiscal year ended March 31.
- “I think [B.C. has] a worse version of the same problem every other province has, which is that existing cannabis users, if they have an illegal dealer that they like … consumer inertia would be to stick with that dealer.” As the Globe reports, British Columbia had the lowest sales of legal cannabis of any province on a per-capita basis in July, as its sluggish rollout of retail stores failed to deflate the province’s long-standing black market.
- Education News: Medical cannabis producer Aphria has launched a cannabis education program designed to inform adults on safe cannabis use, starting with presentations on how parents can discuss cannabis with their children.
- Food for Thought: Federal red tape and foot-dragging on approving edible cannabis makers will see months-long delays in the products reaching stores, according to a Calgary chocolatier. As the Calgary Herald reports, a spokeswoman with Alberta’s cannabis regulator also voiced frustrations about the process.
