Despite the difficulties facing Canada’s largest cannabis companies, its legal industry has had a significant economic impact since the legalization of cannabis in 2018, according to a new report released today by Deloitte.

According to Deloitte, the cannabis sector has generated more than CA$15 billion in direct and indirect tax revenue for Canadian and provincial governments, while creating more than 151,000 jobs since Canada legalized cannabis for adults in October 2018. .

Although Statistics Canada and Health Canada regularly publish data on the sales and impact of cannabis in the country, Deloitte’s report offers a more focused look at tax revenues and the labor market since legalization.

In total, the Canadian cannabis industry contributed C$43.5 billion to the country’s economy between legalization and 2021, according to Deloitte. The industry invested approximately C$4.4 billion directly into the economy, while C$29.3 billion came from “indirect” economic contributions and C$9.8 billion from “induced” contributions, according to the report.

“Our hope with this report is that people realize that the industry has done much more than just provide [aux producteurs autorisés] $4 billion in retail access,” said Rishi Gautam, a partner at Deloitte who leads the consultancy’s cannabis practice. “It filled government coffers and was a boon to the construction industry.”

Deloitte defines indirect economic contributions by activity generated in other sectors, for example the construction of giga greenhouses, while induced economic contributions are defined as consumer expenditures arising from wages earned from cannabis jobs.

The report points out that the indirect economic impacts were modeled to be greater than its direct economic contributions “due to significant capital expenditures in construction and modernization-related activities. »

CA$11 billion of cannabis purchased in 3 years

Since 2018, Canadians have purchased CA$11 billion worth of cannabis, while companies responsible for producing and selling legal cannabis have invested CA$29 billion during that time, Deloitte said. Of the tax revenues generated, approximately C$1 billion came from direct contributions to government revenue, while another C$2.9 billion came from sales and excise taxes. The remaining C$11.2 billion was calculated from indirect and induced tax sources.

The report states that more than 43,479 people are directly employed in the cannabis industry, while another 88,595 people have indirectly found employment through the legal cannabis sector. He adds that for every million dollars in revenue or capital expenditure, the cannabis industry supports about four jobs in Canada.

“We’ve read a lot about the volatility of employment in the cannabis industry,” Rishi Gautam said. “There was this period in Canada where it seemed like every [producteur autorisé] was laying off people, which was taken into account in these figures. »

The report also shed light on the lack of diversity seen in the Canadian cannabis industry and revisited a University of Toronto study which found that 72% of executives and directors in the sector identify as Caucasian men. , while only 16% identify as racialized.

The study also highlighted the environmental impact of the cannabis industry, with 5,184 kilograms of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere for every kilogram of dried flower produced. Additionally, between 5.8 million and 6.4 million kilograms of cannabis packaging was sent to landfill between 2018 and 2019 alone, according to the report.

Vermont’s House Judiciary Committee, which legalized cannabis in 2020, is considering three proposed reforms to the state’s drug laws, including one that seeks to decriminalize possession of personal amounts of controlled substances.

The bill seeks to make possession of a small amount of drugs a criminal offense punishable by a $50 fine and to allow offenders to be screened for substance abuse disorders and be exempt from payment of fees. The proposal is supported by more than 40 sponsors.

The bill provides for the creation of a Drug Use Standards Advisory Council, which would include experts in harm reduction, substance use disorders, treatment and drug law, as well as three representatives consumers “who have lived experience of drug use and drug use practices,” the report says. The council would be responsible for determining what constitutes a personal use supply of each decriminalized drug.

Another bill being considered by the Commission would decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms and cacti, while a third bill would turn many drug offenses into misdemeanors.

Andrew Seaman, Medical Director of Vermont for Better Life Partners, an addiction treatment organization, said Vermont is “probably one of the best candidates” to launch such a program “without additional resources,” pointing to the state’s success in treating addiction disorders with his program Hub & Spoke.

The system Hub & Spoke is a statewide partnership of clinicians and treatment centers that provide medication-assisted therapy to opioid-dependent Vermonters.

“The Hub (treatment centre) and Spoke (physician-led team) ensure that each patient’s care is effective and coordinated, and is supported by nurses and counselors who strive to put each person in relationship with community support services,” reads the Vermont Department of Health website that describes the program.

The three bills are awaiting a vote in committee. Only one US state, Oregon, has decriminalized possession of low-level drugs. This reform had been approved by the voters and not by the Legislative Assembly.

It is very cold this Friday morning. At almost 10 o’clock in the morning, a beautiful winter sun gently illuminates the stones of the Palais-Royal. We are in the heart of Paris, just a few meters from the Louvre Museum. It is here, in the former residence of the kings of France, that the Council of State sits.

At the crossroads of rue Saint-Honoré and rue de Rohan, a big fellow of 1.90m, flanked by two or three people, arrives. It’s Yannick Jadot. The environmental candidate for the presidential election comes today to support the CBD sector. In a few minutes, she holds a hearing vital for her survival, since the government banned the sale of hemp flowers.

CBD-based cannabis must remain legal. We must preserve the 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. pic.twitter.com/YyKNjmqaFt

—Yannick Jadot (@yjadot) January 14, 2022

At his side this Friday morning, Julien Bayou. He is the boss of the Europe Ecology Les Verts (EELV) party, but also a lawyer. Under this cap, he wrote a legal file for the Union of CBD Professionals. With other lawyers, they defend their work today before the Council of State. Objective: restore the sale of flowers. If there was no Covid, Master Bayou would even have pleaded before the judge to defend cannabidiol traders. But seats at the helm were limited.

Lobbying and media strategy

You have to rewind a few months back to understand the friendship between the green party and CBD traders. In May 2021, entrepreneurs are panicking. They learn that a government text, revealed by Newsweed, plans to ban flowers. Their union, the UPCBD, was therefore launched in a hurry. Charles Morel, a Parisian lawyer, is named at its head.

To give weight to the new structure, Morel is hiring the services of the Influences agency in mid-June. Their collaboration aims to “develop an effective strategy to position the Union of CBD Professionals as the benchmark for the sector and deploy its messages”. Translation ? Influences must help it in its lobbying and media strategy.

This agency, thanks to its networks, will contact Julien Bayou, and explain to him the difficulties of the sector. He agrees to meet Charles Morel. The first exchange will take place in a café, in October. “He was attentive and sensitive to the issues of cannabidiol”, remembers the latter.

A third person will help Bayou and Morel to take a step forward in their relationship: Bechir Saket. This environmental activist – he wrote the health section of Yannick Jadot’s presidential program – is also immersed in the world of CBD. He is indeed co-founder of L630, an association which campaigns for a reform of drug policy. Saket is also close to Yann Bisiou, a jurist, who often works with the UPCBD.

This milestone between Bayou and Morel will be crossed on December 31, 2021. On that day, a few hours before New Year’s Eve, the government discreetly publishes its decree prohibiting the sale of flowers. The two lawyers then decide to work together. The UPCBD wants to file an appeal before the Council of State, to have the text annulled.

The union then mobilized the Marseilles lawyer Xavier Pizarro, the jurist Yann Bisiou… and Julien Bayou, the boss of the ecologists. The latter is particularly responsible for the consumer aspect. According to a source, an ethical question stirred his political party for a while: is it the role of the national secretary of EELV to defend the interests of a private economic sector?

“Win-win”

Finally, the “win-win” takes it away. First, because Bayou works for free – pro bono as they say in lawyer jargon. Then, because both sides will be able to benefit from this collaboration. On the one hand, environmentalists take the opportunity to knock out the executive, in the middle of the presidential campaign. Example : “There is an obsession on the part of this government as soon as the word ‘cannabis’ appears, it is totally ridiculous! », retorts the candidate Yannick Jadot, before the Council of State.

The same goes for Bayou, which prides itself on a “big legal victory”, the day after the judges’ decision. In a way, if he has not been paid for his legal analysis, his “salary” will be political. ” Of course it’s a political victory for us, recognizes today Julien Bayou with Newsweed. We have a CBD industry that was the victim of the Interior Minister’s dogmatism on cannabis, it took a stray bullet. So we took legal action, and it’s a snub. »

” It was obvious that Bayou was going to use it politically. At least he has the courage of his convictions, he pays with his person”, greets one of those who worked with him.

Victoire ! 🍁

CBD (especially flowers) has just been authorized again by the Council of State. After a legal battle, the government decree was suspended last night 👏

A victory for ice-producers, ice-consumers and the entire #CBD pic.twitter.com/R2rdsHpfnx

— Julien Bayou (@julienbayou) January 25, 2022

On the other side, CBD traders use EELV’s political and media visibility. Today, almost everyone appreciates his support. “If we don’t bring the debate to the political field, I don’t give much of our skin”, blows a trader. “Their commitment is positive, it allows us to publicize our cause. Any political support is welcome,” abounds the president of the Professional Union of Hemp, Aurélien Delecroix.

Only small downside: some fear that environmentalists are mixing everything up. Indeed, the CBD industry is very careful with words. They never say “cannabis” but “hemp”, for example. Both refer to the same plant, but resonate differently in the collective unconscious. As Yannick Jadot wants to legalize recreational cannabis if elected, some vendors fear they are mixing cannabidiol and THC.

Others cringe a little more. “So far, very little has been heard from environmentalists on CBD. It’s more for convenience, we’ll say, ” tackle Ludovic Mendès, in reference to the presidential campaign. This LREM deputy who has been working for several years on the subject in the National Assembly was notably rapporteur for the information mission on cannabis on the CBD component. “We cannot take away all the work done in recent years”, he adds.

Cookies opened its first store in the heart of Toronto, Canada last Thursday in collaboration with local partner Gage. The cannabis brand is located at 278A Queen Street West, and sells products from both brands, Cookies and Gage, grown by Noya Cannabis.

This is the 12th dispensary in North America operated by Gage and the first Cookies store in Canada.

“It feels good to be in a position to diversify the current flavor profile in the Canadian market, with a flagship store in Toronto,” the rapper said in a statement. “Bringing our customer journey to Canadian markets is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” he adds, noting that the dispensary will aim to pay close attention to customer needs.

We be feeling like the ones when we WALK-THROUGH. T-minus { ONE DAY } until we open our doors to the 6ix. 🔥@cookiesglobal @berner415 @gagecanada #lemonade #Minntz pic.twitter.com/6MGDe2k8cB

— Cookies Canada (@cookies_canada) January 28, 2022

Varieties selected will include Gary Payton, Georgia Pie, Medellin, Lions Mane, The Soap… and iconic Cookiestelle brands such as Lemonnade, Minntz, Runtz, Grandiflora, Powerzzzup…

“Some of my favorite strains growing up were from Canada – {Nade} and {Champagne Aka Pell} were staples. […] . I think the Canadian connoisseur will be proud to have Cookies, and Noya already knows our cultivation standards, and has already done a lot for the Cookies brand in Canada,” Berner said.

Fabian Monaco, CEO of Gage, added, “We are super excited about the iconic launch of the first Cookies store in Canada. Working with Berner and his team to finally bring Cookies to the Canadian market validates the careful processes we’ve developed at Gage, and we look forward to bringing our unique retail platform to the Canadian public. ”

After more than a year of disagreements, Mississippi lawmakers may have finally produced a medical cannabis bill that will become law. Members of the Mississippi House and Senate announced last Tuesday a final agreement on a text that wants to create a therapeutic cannabis program in the state.

The central sticking point was how often and how much cannabis a patient can buy. According to the bill, patients would be allowed “to purchase 3.5 grams of cannabis up to six times per week, or approximately 3 ounces per month, reversing the 5 ounces per month enacted by state voters in of the November 2020 vote.

The bill also adds a 7% sales tax and a 5% excise tax on cannabis.

The text must now be presented to the governor, Tate Reeves, long opposed to the principle of medical cannabis. He will have the choice of signing the bill, vetoing it, or letting it become law without his signature.

If the text becomes law, Mississippi would become the 37th US state to legalize the medical use of cannabis.

Obstacle course

A majority of voters (70%) in Mississippi approved the 2020 ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis in Mississippi, but that triumph quickly gave way to a long series of setbacks for the sick.

The Mississippi Supreme Court struck down the ballot initiative last year, citing a technicality that made it against the state constitution. The court’s decision prompted lawmakers to begin drafting a bill to replace the passed proposal.

The bill easily passed the state House last week, a week after the state Senate passed its own version, allowing lawmakers in both houses to negotiate a compromise.

Governor Tate Reeves was against the ballot initiative, but he said last year that he supports “the will of the voters” and had encouraged lawmakers to produce a bill to replace the one struck down by the Supreme Court.

As New York prepares to launch its adult cannabis market, theOffice of Cannabis Management (OCM) of the state announced on January 24 a significant expansion of the existing medical cannabis program.

Now doctors will be able to issue prescriptions for medical cannabis for any medical condition they believe can be treated with cannabis, rather than relying on a list of specific eligible conditions. This change is mandated by the state Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (Marihuana Regulation & Taxation ActMRTA), which legalized cannabis for adult use last year.

“It’s great to see the medical cannabis program expanding so significantly with the launch of the new certification and registration program and the ability for practitioners to determine eligibility requirements as provided by the MRTA. “, said Tremaine Wright, president of the Cannabis Control Board (CCB), in a press release.

“The new cannabis industry is taking shape as we continue to implement the MRTA and provide New Yorkers with greater access to medicine that we are learning more about every day,” Wright said. “We continue to move forward rapidly and today’s launch of the system builds on our achievements which already include adding the sale of whole flower medical products, permanently waiving the $50 fee for patients and the advancement of home cultivation regulations, among others. »

Last year, the CCB voted unanimously in favor of a policy change to allow patients in the state to grow medical cannabis for personal use.

“We will continue to implement the MRTA and ensure that all New Yorkers who can benefit from medical cannabis have the access they need. »

It now seems unlikely that Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado will sign the bill to legalize medical cannabis and industrial hemp. He said, however, that he would quickly publish a counter-proposal.

Almost simultaneously, the Catholic Church in Costa Rica urged the government and lawmakers to “reflect” on the bill, warning that an “uncontrolled cultivation of psychoactive cannabis” would cause “serious damage to public health”.

The law, which narrowly passed the Legislature by a 29-28 vote earlier this month, covers the cultivation, harvesting, processing, storage and transportation of medical cannabis and hemp products.

substantive issues

Carlos Alvarado said “there are several substantive issues” regarding the bill passed by the legislature, without elaborating.

After the presidential announcement, deputies from Alvarado’s Citizen Action Party urged the president to forego further consideration and sign the bill as is. Meanwhile, National Liberation Party President Silvia Hernández Sánchez accused the government of throwing “smokescreens” over the bill and the issue of cannabis regulation.

“The information recently released by the executive branch in relation to the cannabis and hemp bill openly sounds like an excuse to veto it or to introduce a new text, and a new bill with exclusions,” said Hernandez.

Verification of protocols

The Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector, the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica and the National Chamber of Agriculture and Agro-Industry also urged the President to sign the bill, highlighting its potential for economic development.

The president said he would take into account key United Nations protocols as part of his review, including the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Vienna Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Substances psychotropic drugs, so many international texts which authorize the medical use of cannabis and the industrial use of hemp.

Church interference

José Manuel Garita, president of the Episcopal Conference of the Catholic Church, also spoke out against the bill. He said it would endanger public health and safety and contained “inconsistencies” that would need to be resolved. The Church has also suggested that the law as written would make it difficult to control illicit fields. The Costa Rican church is not the only one to oppose medical cannabis: the situation is similar in Belize or Utah.

Proponents of the bill claim that cannabis can bring economic and social development to rural areas of Costa Rica by allowing the production, industrialization and commercialization of hemp for industrial and food applications, not to mention the potential relief that would be brought to patients by medical cannabis.

In office for two weeks, the new German Commissioner for Drugs, Burkhard Blienert, does not escape the question of a date for the future legalization of German cannabis. The former member of the Bundestag had been campaigning for this for a long time, but wanted to put the project back in a realistic chronology.

In an interview with the German newspaper RND, Burkhard Blienert claimed that the new “traffic light” coalition will be at the forefront of a new global movement that will lead to a “real paradigm shift in drug policy and of drug addiction”.

He said: “In my new role, I am concerned with protecting and helping consumers, not punishing them. With the controlled and regulated sale of cannabis in Germany, we are going to make European history. »

In the long time…

Developing a cannabis regulatory framework always takes time. Canada, which already had a legal framework for the production and distribution of cannabis for medical use, launched its task force on recreational cannabis in 2016 for legalization in 2018. Burkhard Blienert confirms that drafting the new laws in Germany will not be an easy task, but there is a model in the form of the Cannabis Control Act proposed by the German Greens in 2015.

In addition to health protection, restricting cannabis to adults and tackling the black market head-on, the Drugs Commissioner knows he will have to address issues such as personal possession, advertising, taxation, home cultivation and measures to change course with other illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

He thus wishes to broaden the approach to all drugs: “We must not leave drug addicts alone with their problems. I would like us not to focus on repression but on protection and help for drug addicts. Criminal law is neither medicine nor therapy. We need to empower people and reduce the health risks of addiction. »

He believes that Germany will be at the forefront of a new movement that will steer international drug policy towards “health protection and regulation and less on law enforcement”.

… but before the next elections

Question timing, no specific date has been provided. However, he insisted on guaranteeing that they will be in place within four years.

“Before the end of this election period, there should be a law that will make the purchase of cannabis by adults in Germany legal, in a controlled and safe way. This is what the coalition agreement says, and we will stick to it,” he said.

Demecan, one of the three companies to have received a medical cannabis production license in Germany, but the only German one alongside Aurora and Tilray, has received its EU-GMP (good manufacturing practices) certification for its production site located near Dresden, Saxony.

EU-BPF certification (or EU-GMP for “Good Manufacturing Practice”) guarantees the quality of medical products throughout the manufacturing process. It is issued independently by the pharmaceutical authorities and now allows Demecan to produce “medicines” based on cannabis.

Dr. Adrian Fischer, MD and Managing Director of Demecan, welcomed the announcement: “GMP certification is the highest standard that manufacturers have to meet, as high quality pharmaceutical products are expected. The fact that we now have this certificate in our hands is an extraordinary step in the young history of Demecan and an important step for the development of a German cannabis center in Saxony. »

The way is now clear for the first delivery of 100% “Made in Germany” medical cannabis flowers. The first flowers produced in Germany have already arrived in pharmacies but were produced by Aphria / Tilray, a company of Canadian origin. With the GMP certification, Demecan will also be able to test the effectiveness of medical cannabis through clinical trials.

Demecan plans to deliver its first cannabis flowers to the National Cannabis Agency and, through it, to pharmacies in the first quarter of 2022. The company already supplied imported cannabis to German pharmacies, in this case a Florestura variety (Super Haze x Amnesia) 20% THC grown in Australia.

Amazon, the second-largest private employer in the United States, supports a Republican-led bill to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis at the federal level.

The company’s public policy division said Tuesday it was “happy to support” Republican Rep. Nancy Mace’s bill, which filed the States Reform Act in November as an alternative to the legalization projects championed by the Democrats.

“Like many others in this country, we believe it is time to reform national cannabis policy and Amazon is committed to helping this effort,” said the company, which has previously expressed support for a separate legalization bill, led by Democrats.

We’re pleased to endorse @RepNancyMace‘s States Reform Act. Like so many in this country, we believe it’s time to reform the nation’s cannabis policy and Amazon is committed to helping lead the effort. https://t.co/g04Dn5KZq5

—Amazon Public Policy (@amazon_policy) January 25, 2022

Brian Huseman, Amazon’s vice president of public policy, said the bill offers “comprehensive reform that demonstrates the emergence of a bipartisan consensus to end federal cannabis prohibition.” »

Last year, Amazon decided to stop testing most of its workers for cannabis and erase the “records” of former workers who were disciplined for testing positive, allowing them to be rehired.

The reason for the abandonment of cannabis drug testing is multiple, Amazon said at the time. The growing state-level legalization movement has made it “difficult to implement a fair, consistent, nationwide pre-employment cannabis testing program,” with data showing that drug testing “has a disproportionate impact on people of color and are a barrier to employment”. Removing this requirement also broadened the company’s pool of candidates.

Amazon and its bipartisan support

The Republican legalization bill would end the federal ban on cannabis while taking specific steps to ensure businesses can continue to operate unhindered by changing federal rules. It also incorporates certain fairness provisions such as expunging the criminal records of people with non-violent cannabis-related convictions and imposing an excise tax, the revenue from which would support community reinvestment, law enforcement and the activities of the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Amazon also supports the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a project carried by the Democrats. Although they hold a majority in both chambers, in addition to controlling the White House, the margins for adoption are slim.

The MORE Act was approved in September by the House Judiciary Committee last September. Senate leaders are preparing to file a separate legalization proposal after unveiling a draft version in July.