Aphria Inc (TSE:APH) (OTCMKTS:APHQF) (FRA:10E), CanniMed Therapeutics Inc (TSE:CMED)(OTCMKTS:CMMDF)(FRA:0GB), ABcann Global Corp (CVE:ACBN) (OTCMKTS:ABCCF) (FRA:23Q), and Maricann Group Inc (CNSX:MARI) (OTCMKTS:MRRCF) (FRA:75M) all issued news early Friday that will likely impact the day’s performance.

Starting with Aphria, the company announced it had received GMP certification on its growing and its processing facilities at its Leamington operation by independent Lab SGS Analytics, a premier inspection, verification, testing and certification company, recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity, with more than 95,000 employees, we operate a network of more than 2,400 offices and laboratories around the world.

Established in 1878, SGS initially transformed grain trading in Europe by offering agricultural inspection services, and was registered in Geneva as Société Générale de Surveillance in 1919.

CanniMed Therapeutics, currently in the process of being integrated into Aurora Cannabis Corp after an initially hostile takeover bid became a friendly merger, announced today that it would publish quarterly results prior to market open on Monday March 19. Cannimed was the first company to grow marijuana legally in Canada under the MMAR regulations, which were replaced by the current ACMPR rules (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations).

The majority of CanniMed’s shares were tendered to the Aurora offer and so the companies are in the process of finalizing and completing the merger.

ABcann Global announced the departure of one of its founding directors. Ken Clement, who founded the company in 2014, tendered his resignation today and was thanked by the company for his contribution. ABcann, based in Napanee, Ontario, also recently retained VIRTUE, the creative agency powered by VICE Media, as its agency-of-record. VIRTUE, on a category-exclusive basis, will coordinate a full rebrand, and create consumer facing sub-brands for both the medical and adult-use cannabis markets.

ABcann recently closed a $75 million financing, with which it plans to expand its growing area to 500,000 square feet, enabling it to increase production to 30,000 kilograms of marijuana annually.

Maricann CEO Ben Ward in the Midas Letter studio in February 2018 before the controversy began.

And finally, the board of directors of Maricann Group distanced itself from comments made by CEO Ben Ward in an apparently company sponsored interview wherein Ward criticized the underwriters of a now-cancelled $70 million bought-deal private placement that was announced on January 29, 2018. While no reason for the cancellation was given by the underwriters, it is obvious that the termination of the underwriting agreement stems from the revelation of an ongoing Ontario Securities Commission investigation looking into sales of securities with two directors of Maricann after the announcement of the financing.

Ward apparently gave the interview to Stockhouse without the authorization of the board, who stated that his comments in the interview should be ignored.