Canopy Growth to spend up to US$150M to grow hemp in New York

Canadian pot giant Canopy Growth announced Monday it has been granted a licence to process and produce hemp by New York state. The company said it will spend between US$100 million to US$150 million to establish a “Hemp Industrial Park” in its New York operations, capable of producing an unspecified amount of hemp extract on an annual basis. The investment should create about 400 jobs, according to U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, who was in Binghamton, New York to announce the arrangement.  

Aurora buys organic pot producer Whistler Medical

Aurora Cannabis announced it entered an all-stock deal to buy Whistler Medical Marijuana on Monday worth up to US$175 million. Whistler operates two indoor licensed production facilities, including one in Whistler, B.C.,  and another located near the resort town. Both facilities will have a combined production capacity of over 5,000 kilograms per year. The deal comes after Aurora Cannabis sold more than 4.4 million common shares in The Green Organic Dutchman, another organic cannabis producer, last week, according to insider filings.

Niagara NIMBYism on pot producers constraining supply expansion 

Niagara Region is best known as the home of Ontario’s wine country, but it’s also making a name as a hotbed for legal commercial pot growers. However, with six licensed marijuana production operations in the community of 17,500, The Canadian Press’s Armina Ligaya reports on how mounting complaints about odour and light pollution at night are causing residents much concern. That local pushback is constraining licensed producers such as CannTrust to expand and cash in on the current supply crunch.

Pot retailers forced into waiting game after Ontario's licence lottery

Some of Ontario’s potential cannabis retailers doubt whether the 25 successful licensees for pot shops in the province can actually be successful in opening up their doors by April. National Access Cannabis CEO Mark Goliger told BNN Bloomberg on Monday that it’s a very low probability these licence winners will actually be operational by April. More licences should become available by mid-2019 once Ontario is able to eradicate its cannabis supply backlog.