Cannabis Professional’s daily roundup of industry news. View archive here.
Chase, British Columbia-based aquaponic micro-cultivator Habitat Craft Cannabis was among four companies to win a Health Canada cannabis licence at the end of last week; The United States House of Representatives will vote on legislation allowing cannabis businesses to access banking services; an Ontario Judge will be decide the fate of the provincial cannabis retail lottery system and, for residents of Australia’s capital city region, this could be the week cannabis prohibition comes to an end.
– Jameson Berkow
Health Canada issues new cannabis licences (among them an aquaponic micro-cultivator!)
Four cannabis licence applicants in four provinces received Heath Canada approval friday, bringing the total number of authorized growers, processors and sellers of cannabis to 230 nationally.
Ottawa-based Artiva Inc. and Chase, British Columbia-based Habitat Craft Cannabis Ltd. were issued cultivation and micro-cultivation licences, respectively. Quebec-based Medican Organic Inc. received a medical sales licence for its second location and Olds, Alberta-based Olds Softgels won a processing licence.
Habitat operates an aquaponics facility that grows both cannabis and coho salmon. The wholly-owned subsidiary of Deepwater Agriculture Corporation uses a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), which the company says is able to recycle 99 per cent of water while providing all nutrients and CO2 from fish, enabling crops to be 100 per cent organic.
“This model allows Habitat to achieve a lower cost per gram by selling fish and caviar (certified organic under the Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard CAN/ CGSB-32.312-2018) to offset operational costs,” spokesperson Sandra Castillo said via email.
Artiva sits on 100 acres of land with 540,000 square feet of existing greenhouses and 200,000 square feet of hot houses. Construction was completed in September of 2018 when it was owned by a company called LiveWell. That company subsequently spent nine months regrouping before rebranding as Eureka 93 in July, only to face lawsuits, licencing issues and high-profile resignations barely one month later.
Medican Organic is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Green Organic Dutchman and Terra Life Sciences is the Calgary, Alberta-based privately-held parent of Olds Softgels.
– Jameson Berkow
U.S. House to vote on cannabis banking bill this week
The United States House of Representatives will decide this week whether to advance legislation that would allow state-legal cannabis businesses to access federally-chartered banking services.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Act would be on the following week’s docket in remarks on the House floor on the morning of Friday, Sept. 20. According to one report, the vote itself will most likely occur on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
The bill requires support from two-thirds of the lower chamber or 290 ‘yay’ votes to advance to the Senate. Then a simple majority, or support from at least 51 Senators, would send the bill to President Trump’s desk for a final signature to become law.
Widespread lack of access to basic financial services has left cannabis businesses operating in accordance with relevant state laws have required many of them to operate on a mostly cash basis. That means paying taxes with duffel bags filled with cash and having to resort to highly unorthodox methods of accepting credit cards and other non-cash payment methods.
Despite the SAFE Act’s potential to address those issues, some prominent U.S. cannabis investors argue there are already plenty of banking options available to legal cannabis business owners willing to put in the necessary effort.
“It gets under my skin about [banking] being a huge issue because the reality is there are plenty of state-chartered credit unions and local community banks that are providing banking services to the cannabis industry today,” Matt Hawkins, managing principal at Cresco Capital, whose firm has invested in several dozen cannabis-related businesses, told a cannabis industry conference in Boston earlier this year.
“In fact, if an operator came to me with a deal that I liked, but then asked me if I could help them find a bank, I’d pass on the deal immediately because I’d think he is lazy.”
- Jameson Berkow
Australian capital territory set to legalize recreational cannabis
Australia might not be planning to legalize recreational cannabis nation-wide any time soon, but residents of the Canberra region could see prohibition end as soon as this week.
Legislation allowing every adult resident of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT, population roughly 500,000) to possess up to 50 grams of dried cannabis for personal use will be up for “final debate and a likely vote,” on Wednesday, Sept 25, the Canberra Times reports. Similar to the current conflict in the United States between federal cannabis prohibition and state-level legalization, legalization in the ACT could test the limits of regional powers.
“It is important to note that, even after the passage of this bill, possessing and growing cannabis will carry a degree of risk arising from interactions between territory and Commonwealth law,” the response said, according to the Times report. “We would be the first jurisdiction in Australia to legislate in this way, and the interaction with existing Commonwealth law remains untested.”
- Jameson Berkow
Ontario Cannabis Policy Council set for launch
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Edmonton-based cannabis retailer Fire & Flower Inc. are launching a new industry advocacy group later this week.
Thursday, Sept. 26 has been set for the official launch of the Ontario Cannabis Policy Council in Toronto. The primary focus of the 10-member group will be on “on advocating for the industry’s growth across the province," according to a statement.
“The launch of the Council is particularly timely,” the statement said, with an Ontario Divisional Court Judge expected to decide on Wednesday Sept. 25 “how the second lottery process will proceed.”
The new group will be co-chaired by Daniel Safayeni, director of policy of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, and Trevor Fencott, CEO of Fire & Flower.
Founding members of the Ontario Cannabis Policy Council include:
- Trevor Fencott, CEO, Fire & Flower Inc.
- Mark Goliger, CEO, National Access Cannabis Corp.
- Adine Carter, CMO, Tilray
- Tom Dyck, CEO, mīhī cannabis
- Mimi Lam, CEO, Superette Inc.
- Eric Foster, Partner, Dentons Canada LLP
- Rene Van Acker, Dean and Professor, Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph
- Gerald Proctor, Vice President, Government and Stakeholder Relations, Sundial Growers Inc.
- Janet Ecker, President, Kilwaughter Consulting
- Pamela Jeffrey, Founder and CEO, The Pamela Jeffrey Group
- Jameson Berkow