Though cannabis has largely gone unmentioned during this election campaign, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer chided prime minister Justin Trudeau over legalization during the French language debate. Though Scheer has been quiet on the subject of cannabis, Quebec—the primary audience for the French debate—is markedly less canna-friendly than the rest of the country, and Scheer’s hoping to expand Conservative seats in the province.
Business in Vancouver, Leafly
- Responding to the moderator’s question, “Do families have reason to worry about the legalization of edible cannabis?” Scheer said, “Mr. Trudeau passed this bill [hastily]. He ignored the worries of premiers, of the provinces, of health experts, and families.”
- Scheer argued Trudeau promised to get cannabis out of criminals’ hands and reduce youth consumption, “and those two things there, they continue to exist. The justification doesn’t match the results.” He said his party would “invest in research” to make certain “medical professionals know the consequences of consuming cannabis. […] We will focus on eliminating dependence [on drugs].” TVA Nouvelles—Video in French, My Translation
In July 2019, the Canadian cannabis sector’s GDP was $8.26B (in 2012 dollars). The licensed industry’s GDP was $3.85B, while the unlicensed industry’s GDP was $4.16B. The legal cannabis industry has grown 185% since legalization, and the illicit sector has contracted by 21% since that time. Twitter—David George Cosh, CTV Election
Quick Hits
- Banks haven’t recovered from the CannTrust meltdown: not only are they less eager to make investments, but some won’t even let legal REC/MED businesses open accounts.
Financial Post, Business in Vancouver - Hopefully striking a mortal blow against the Indica-Sativa divide, Leafly debuted a new graphic system of visual classification for cultivars (many of which are hybrids) indicating THC and CBD content (with shapes) and terpene content (with colours), as well as general potency.
The Star, GeekWire
