Sample Sidebar Module

This is a sample module published to the sidebar_top position, using the -sidebar module class suffix. There is also a sidebar_bottom position below the menu.

Sample Sidebar Module

This is a sample module published to the sidebar_bottom position, using the -sidebar module class suffix. There is also a sidebar_top position below the search.

Oh Cannabis!

Details
Category: Legal Forum

Recreational cannabis has been legal in Canada since October 2018. Some seek to capitalize on a lucrative market, predicted to exceed $7 billion in 2019.2 Others reject the market entirely, judging it too risky. For those wishing to turn ‘green into black,’ we review the general laws and legal issues regarding transportation, retail and consumption.

The Cannabis Act3 is the federal law governing the production, distribution, sale and possession of cannabis across Canada. Provinces and territories are responsible for determining how it is  distributed and sold and can set added restrictions on the federal laws pertaining to cannabis, including lowering possession limits, increasing the minimum age and restricting laws on public consumption.

A federal license is required for companies to cultivate, process and sell cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. These industry players are called “Licensed Producers” or “LPs.” The three largest cannabis companies at this time in Canada are Canopy Growth Corp., Aurora Cannabis and Aphira Inc.

In April 2014, Canopy Growth Corp. of Smith Falls, Ontario became the first cannabis company in North America to be publicly traded – NYSE (CGC) and the TSX (WEED) – and boasts a market capitalization of $22 billion.5

Aurora Cannabis – NYSE (ACB) and the TSX (ACB) – was founded in Mountain View County, Alberta. As of January 2019, it has 11 facilities worldwide and can produce over 500,000kg of cannabis per year.

In December 2017, Leamington, Ontario’s Aphira Inc. Said it was a medical cannabis supplier to Shoppers Drug Mart. On January 8, 2019, it completed its first shipment of medical cannabis to Shoppers Drug Mart.6

In Ontario, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) regulates private cannabis retail and licenses and regulates the sale of recreational cannabis in privately run stores. This spring, Ontario will permit the opening of cannabis retail stores. (Previously, the only way to purchase recreational cannabis in Ontario was online through the Ontario Cannabis Store.) Only 25 Retail Operator Licenses were granted by lottery and until the supply chain stabilizes, the Province advises there will not be any more licenses granted.7