Ontario stops selling certain CannTrust products amid Health Canada investigation

CannTrust’s troubles extended for a third day after the company first disclosed Health Canada said it was non-compliant with certain regulations. The company’s recreational cannabis products have been pulled from the shelves of Canada's biggest pot market. The Ontario Cannabis Store, the province's online retailer and wholesale distributor to pot stores, told BNN Bloomberg’s David George-Cosh that it has voluntarily removed all affected products from distribution pending the outcome of Health Canada’s investigation and halted distribution of the company’s products to authorized retail stores in the province. News of the halted sales sent CannTrust shares closing down nearly 13 per cent in Wednesday trading.

Gap between legal and illicit cannabis continues to grow: StatsCan

Canadian legal pot prices continue to rise despite a drop in the average cost of a gram of cannabis from the illicit market, according to Statistics Canada. The government agency said Wednesday that the average price of an illegal gram of pot was $5.93 in the second quarter, down from $6.23 in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the cost of a legal gram of weed, however, was $10.65, up from $10.21 in the previous quarter. That’s roughly 80 per cent more costly than the price tag on illicit weed.

Pot Pickups: GrowGeneration taps former Home Depot CEO for advisor role; Curaleaf appoints two senior executives

Denver-based GrowGeneration, a chain of specialty gardening stores, has appointed former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli as a senior strategic advisor to the company. Nardelli and GrowGeneration will “explore potential partnerships that will bring value”, the company said in a statement. Nardelli’s appointment reflects the ongoing shift in cannabis-related companies looking to add seasoned, well-established executives to help improve the still-nascent industry’s compliance and governance recent growing pains. Meanwhile, Curaleaf named two senior executives to help bolster the cannabis producer’s operations. Dave Johnson, a former executive at PepsiCo's Frito – Lay business, will be Curaleaf’s president of its hemp division, while former Sanofi-Genzyme executive Troy Morgan joins the firm as its newly-appointed senior vice president of compliance.

Alberta increases cannabis retail store count to 176; High Tide and Fire & Flower add new shops

More cannabis stores are opening in Alberta as the province continues to double-down on its position as Canada’s cannabis sales leader. Fire & Flower announced the opening of its 23rd cannabis retail store after the province’s regulator approved a licence to open doors to a shop located in Westlock, Alta. Meanwhile, High Tide’s Canna Cabana retail brand announced it will open two more locations in the province in Edmonton and Okotoks, Alta., respectively. Alberta now has 176 cannabis stores selling legal pot, far more than any other province in Canada.



DAILY BUZZ

$7.87

-- The average price per gram of cannabis in Canada in the second quarter of the year, down from $8.03 in the previous quarter, according to Statistics Canada.

Cannabis Canada is BNN Bloomberg’s in-depth series exploring the stunning formation of the entirely new – and controversial – Canadian recreational marijuana industry. Read more from the special series here and subscribe to our Cannabis Canada newsletter to have the latest marijuana news delivered directly to your inbox every day.