Origin House, Cresco Labs provide update to $1.1B deal, cooperating with DOJ investigation

Origin House and Cresco Labs released an update regarding their planned $1.1 billion deal. The pact has been delayed due to additional requests by the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division to investigate the pending transaction. Both Origin House and Cresco Labs said they are “cooperating fully” with the investigation. Both companies are “in active discussions with the DOJ regarding the second requests, have allocated the resources required to expeditiously and completely respond to the second requests, and look forward to completing the arrangement,” they said in a statement.  

Zenabis signs $30M supply deal with Tilray subsidiary for unspecified amount of pot 

Zenabis said it signed a supply deal with Tilray subsidiary on Tuesday, providing the B.C.-based producer with an unspecified amount of cannabis in return for $30 million. Under terms of the agreement, Zenabis will deliver a monthly quantity of dried cannabis to Tilray’s High Park subsidiary over the coming year, starting in October. Zenabis said it doesn’t expect these delivery commitments to impact its ability to supply existing customers or other provincial regulators. Zenabis said the supply deal will likely “reduce the requirement for potential further draws on our $60 million unsecured convertible debenture facility.”

Aleafia Health gets green light to export cannabis oil to Australia

Aleafia Health said it received export permits from Health Canada to start shipping its cannabis products to Australia. The Toronto-based company said it expects to ship its branded medical cannabis oils in the next month. The shipments will be distributed by CannaPacific, in which Aleafia owns a 10 per cent stake. Aleafia said it already received the necessary permits from the Australian government to import cannabis into the country. Australia’s medical cannabis market is estimated to be worth US$94 million by 2024, according to a recent report by BDS Analytics.

Legal pot not tied to any increase in crime or disorder: Calgary police   

Legalized pot doesn’t appear to be causing an increase in crime or visible disorder, according to police in one of Canada’s biggest cities. Calgary Police said recent data showed that little has changed on city streets since recreational use of the drug was legalized last October. Since then, authorities have taken down five black market grow operations, the largest consisting of 1,100 plants worth an estimated $1.4 million.  “I don’t think we can dispute the numbers . . . it’s status quo,” Staff Sgt. Kyle Grant told the Calgary Herald. Meanwhile, there’s been an increase in the amount of Calgarians ticketed for illegal transportation or public consumption of pot in the first three months of this year (69) compared to the same period in 2018 (49).