At the same time as CannTrust was laying off 180 employees this week, representing 20% of its workforce, Bloomberg received documents showing that throughout last year CannTrust was expanding its genetics by bringing in seeds purchased on the illicit market as it was struggling to meet supply agreements.
Financial Post, Bloomberg
- In order to mislead regulators, CannTrust employees “changed the names of as many as 20 strains to those which the company was licensed to sell in the legal MED and REC markets.”
- A MED grower who calls himself Kev in the Shed remarked, “What’s even worse is tainting well known med cultivar names with who knows what.”
Twitter - Two strains from illicit seeds were grown and sold, ultimately representing roughly 1,000 plants.
Lawyer Trina Fraser noted that while such practices are breaches of regulation, given that Health Canada allowed illicit genetics to be brought into the legal MED market during its infancy “under s.10 declarations, you can’t argue that there is any health risk. Why shouldn’t existing licence holders be able to make this declaration as well?? It was a policy decision that feels arbitrary to me.”
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Quick Hits
- Cannabis growing practices remain largely uncodified, which means some growers use dramatically different techniques than others. The professionalization of cannabis growing through college courses will hopefully change that.
Globe and Mail