Business

DENVER — Outdoor marijuana growers are reporting an increase in cross-pollination from hemp farms, a development that could mean marijuana cultivators might lose upwards of tens of thousands of dollars if their plants become unmarketable as flower products.

As the marijuana and hemp industries increasingly share the same cultivation territory, the number of conflicts is likely to increase, particularly in areas with thriving outdoor cannabis cultivation.

FREDERICTON — Citing significant financial losses and overly restrictive federal regulations, the New Brunswick government is looking for a private operator take over its distribution and sales of recreational cannabis.

Finance Minister Ernie Steeves made the announcement Thursday in Fredericton, saying that losses incurred by the provincial cannabis corporation persuaded the government it was time to turn to the private sector.

The Cannabis Industrial Marketplace runs various shows throughout the United States. Show locations include:

Canopy Growth Corp. took a surprise $32.7 million hit from returns and pricing changes related primarily to the sales of its oil and soft gel capsule products, resulting in the company’s net revenue plummeting by 15 per cent, quarter-over-quarter, for the period ending Sept. 30, 2019.

This is the biggest revenue decline the company has seen since legalization over a year ago.

Canopy reported a net revenue of $76.6 million, compared to $90.5 million in the previous quarter. The company’s net loss was $374 million.

Declining cannabis prices could potentially leave some cannabis companies vulnerable to writedowns due to an accounting quirk that gives licensed producers significant latitude in valuing their assets before they are sold, say auditing experts. 

“If you’re still sitting on inventory when the price of cannabis goes down, and you can’t sell your inventory for that price, you’re going to see writedowns,” said Trisha LeBlanc, a partner at Grant Thornton LLP who leads the accounting firm’s cannabis group. 

Rubicon Organics CEO Jesse McConnell, wearing shoe protectors in his greenhouse, would have concerns about his plants’ biological safety were the facility open to the general public Photo: Rob Kruyt

Cannabis-related tourism, or canna-tourism, is a niche in the cannabis sector that has a way to go to take shape as the legal cannabis industry evolves.

After Canada legalized cannabis in October 2018, many businesses started to realize that cannabis culture’s social element, similar to that of alcohol, makes the drug a natural counterpart for tourism ventures.

Tilray Inc. sold nearly five times more pot than last year, according to a quarterly earnings report released Thursday, in part thanks to the acquisition of the world’s largest hemp-food maker and early returns from selling medical marijuana in Europe.

Cronos Group Inc fell short of quarterly revenue estimates on Tuesday, as the Canadian producer’s revenue per gram of cannabis sold fell in a market suffering from surplus supply.

The cannabis industry in the country is facing a supply glut as companies ramp up production. But retail sales have failed to offset the surplus, even though there has been a rise in the number of weed stores and the sale of cannabis-derivative products has been allowed in Canada.

A couple seated at a high top table smoked a joint, while six tourists in a circular booth nearby drank THC-infused beer and reviewed the flower menu. It was the morning of the Southern Paiute’s traditional hunt, when tribal youth learn to shoot and harvest mule deer as adult “providers”, but Benny Tso, 43, was stuck in the Las Vegas Paiute’s new cannabis tasting room, taking meetings and making calls.

Image Source: Cannabis tourist Dan Chlebanowski smells marijuana for sale at a dispensary in Los Angeles on Jan. 24, 2019. (Credit: Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images)

California has suspended 394 marijuana business permits in a move that critics say will temporarily reduce the number of legal cannabis shops in the state.