Topic: Cannabis Investing

Cannabis in the news October 10, 2018

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Legalization on October 17 is fast approaching–-and the news is at an all-time high. We filter through the volume of noise and present five articles that are likely to have the highest impact on investors.

1. A province of 4.1 million residents will have 17 bricks-and-mortar cannabis stores ready to sell marijuana when recreational use becomes legal next week.

Alberta Gaming Liquor & Cannabis has now released the list of pot retailers that will be licensed to sell recreational cannabis on Oct. 17. Of the 17 retailers issued interim cannabis permits, six are in Edmonton, three in Medicine Hat and two are in Calgary.

An interim licence lets a seller order and ship product to its locations ahead of legalization.

In addition, Albertans will have access to pot online. Ontarians looking for recreational marijuana will also be able to go online, with privately owned bricks-and-mortar stores slated to open April 1, 2019.


2. The cannabis industry is preparing for a possible spike in demand for low-potency pot.

The call for cannabis with lower doses of psychoactive ingredients is expected to come from new users.

A Deloitte report suggests they’re more risk averse, older users: they’re typically between 35 and 54 years old. While three-quarters of them will have had some experience with recreational cannabis, only about 41% will have used it in the last five years, according to the report.

That profile contrasts many of today’s users. Deloitte characterizes them as risk takers.

“They’re young, typically with a high school or college education,” says the report. “In their quest to live life to the fullest, they’re more likely to put their health or safety at risk, even going so far as to skirt or break the law.”


3. The federal Transport Ministry says Canadians will be allowed to bring marijuana on domestic flights, starting next week.

Passengers flying with domestic carriers will be permitted to carry up to 30 grams of cannabis, says a statement from the Transport Ministry.

Starting October 17, 2018, they’ll be allowed to both carry on or check a bag with that legal amount of marijuana. But, their destination must be within Canada.

Canadian Air Transport Safety Authority (CATSA) has also worked with Transport Canada to ensure its protocols are “consistent with government policy.”

Still, Transport Canada is reminding travellers that marijuana on international flights, including to the U.S. remains illegal.


4. The country’s biggest police force has now announced restrictions on marijuana use for its members—rules that effectively follow the lead of many other forces.

Toronto Police Service will block all of its employees from using recreational cannabis within 28 days of reporting for duty. That new policy comes into force when use of recreational cannabis becomes legal on Oct. 17, 2018.

Officers registered to use medical marijuana are exempted.

The new rules effectively mirror those set down by the Calgary police force and others.

Recreational cannabis use is prohibited for cops in Alberta’s biggest city. That extends to their off-duty hours.

Still, police officers in Ottawa and Vancouver will be allowed to use cannabis off-duty once it’s legal, although they must be “fit for duty” while on the job.


5. The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) says it will collect only the buyer information needed to process online orders.

The Crown corporation says it will take a “privacy by design” approach to online sales when recreational pot use becomes legal on Oct. 17, 2018.

“Only information required for completing the transaction will be collected: name, address, contact and payment information,” OCS spokesman Daffyd Roderick told the National Post in an email. “This information is used to process transactions, to verify the identity of the purchaser, to deliver and return products, to issue refunds, and to protect against error or fraud.”

The data OCS collects will, in fact, be encrypted and stored on servers within Canada. The online cannabis store has also pledged to retain the information no longer than the minimum amount of time required by law.

The Crown corporation has worked with Shopify to provide e-commerce services for its cannabis sales. That company has built special systems to store customer data exclusively in Canada.

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