What’s Up in Weed

By: Andrea Hill

This is the inaugural post of a regular e-newsletter, rounding up what’s currently happening in the cannabis industry in Canada and abroad.

BC city can use zoning laws to shut out dispensary

A British Columbia court has ruled that a city can use municipal licensing and zoning by-laws to shut out dispensaries.  The decision is one of the first to consider how jurisdiction over cannabis distribution and sale may be split between various levels of government, and supports the likelihood that questions of how and where to allow access to cannabis will fall within provincial and municipal jurisdiction. 

• SkyLaw blogged about it here: http://skylawpc.ca/blog.
• Here is the full court decision: http://canlii.org.

Cronos Group is a TSXV Top Performer

SkyLaw client Cronos Group Inc., the parent company of two licensed producers of cannabis (Peace Naturals Project Inc. and In the Zone Produce Ltd.), announced its receipt of a “TSX Venture Top 50” award, an award reserved for the best performing publicly traded companies on the TSX Venture Exchange over the past year.  Here is the full press release: http://thecronosgroup.com.

• Cronos, formerly called PharmaCan Capital Corp., also completed its formal name change, effective Friday February 24, 2017.

Publico Invests in Canwe Growers

SkyLaw client Canwe Growers Inc. was featured in public disclosure by Alliance Growers Corp., which announced its recent investment in Canwe.  Canwe’s team includes licensed producer MedReleaf Corp.’s previous head grower and his number two aide.  Here’s the full press release: http://alliancegrowers.com.

Growing Pains: Pesticides and Recalls 

Several licensed producers have undertaken voluntary recalls and issued updates regarding their investigations of why trace amounts of prohibited pesticides, including myclobutanil, have been found in their products.

• Myclobutanil, although determined to be safe when digested, releases hydrogen cyanide when heated and is not approved for use on cannabis plants.  Licensed producers must comply with the Good Production Practices set out in the ACMPR, which permit the use of only 13 specified pest control products.  Health Canada also announced that it would begin randomly testing batches of cannabis products for pesticides.
• Quality assurance testing – for mould, bacteria, heavy metals, and other contaminants – has been part of the Canadian medical marijuana regime from the start, and each batch of cannabis products is rigorously tested before it can be sold to the public.  However, regular and comprehensive testing for prohibited pesticides by licensed producers has not previously been mandated.
• Here’s a link to Health Canada’s statement on the matter: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer suggested that “greater enforcement” of recreational marijuana laws may be applied under the Trump administration.  Here’s the report from Reuters: http://reuters.com.

• Mr. Spicer’s comments sparked concern about the future of state-based recreational cannabis regimes.
• State “rec” regimes were founded on a policy of the US federal Department of Justice that it would defer enforcement of federal drug laws against states which strictly and responsibly regulated recreational cannabis. 

• On January 31, 2017, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould affirmed that the Liberal government was determined to bring forward legislation to legalize and regulate the recreational use of cannabis this spring.  Legislation is widely expected to be introduced in April.

Germany passes medical marijuana law

Medical marijuana continues to gain acceptance internationally.  On January 19, Germany’s parliament passed a law legalizing the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes for people who are chronically ill.  The law is expected to take effect in March.  Here’s the Reuters article: http://reuters.com.

• Peace Naturals Project Inc. and Tweed Inc. are among the Canadian licensed producers which currently export cannabis to Germany.

Andrea Hill is a corporate and securities lawyer with SkyLaw Professional Corporation in Toronto. Recognized as one of Canada’s leading legal experts in corporate cannabis law, Andrea writes for the Globe and Mail about cannabis laws, and works with a broad variety of clients in the cannabis space, including publicly-listed licensed producers of marijuana, licence applicants, and ancillary businesses such as tech companies focused on the cannabis industry. For more information about Andrea, visit the SkyLaw website here.

If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact us at 416-759-5299 or online through SkyLaw.ca.  We would be delighted to speak with you.

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