You’re Not Ganja Believe This, Health Canada, but the Edible Cannabis Regulations Are a Buzz Kill

Protecting the health and safety of Canadians is a top priority for the Government of Canada. This overarching objective has, of course, made its way into laws restricting the marketing, product development, and ingredients of edible cannabis products, which will soon be marketed and sold to Canadians. The new regulations (the “Regulations”) to the Cannabis …

Key Business and Legal Considerations for Franchising Retail Cannabis Distribution

The movement towards the legalization of recreational cannabis has been greeted by the business world with the raptures reminiscent of the U.S. gold rush of the 19th century and the worldwide dot-com fixation of the 20th century. As governments try to figure out what controls they wish to impose on production, quality, location of retail …

Ontario’s Private Retail Cannabis System: Licensing Process, Restrictions on Licensed Producers and Implications for Retail Locations on First Nations Lands

UPDATE: effective the evening of December 13th, 2018, the Ontario government has taken a different approach to the retail cannabis licensure process as a result of the legal cannabis supply shortage across Canada. In lieu of the unlimited number of applications that were to be accepted on December 17th, 2018, the regulator will be accepting …

The Top Trends in Cross-Border M&A: What to Watch For

In the first half of 2018, according to a report by PWC Canada, mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) activity in Canada hit $93 billion. This is largely attributable to increased activity in the cannabis, technology, real estate and energy sectors. This trend is likely to continue for the rest of the year despite the current climate …

What Can Ontario Cannabis Consumers Expect As the Senate Votes on the Cannabis Act

Everyone is holding their breath this week waiting for the Senate to finally vote on the Cannabis Act. By all indications, the vote will be positive which means that the provinces can move forward with their preparations for the legalization of recreational cannabis. So what can consumers expect when they finally get to walk into …