Cannabis Professional’s daily roundup of industry news. View archive here.
The Heart and Stroke foundation fired a shot across the bow of the industry with a warning about cannabis; and a pair of Canadian producers - Delta 9 and Pure Sunfarms - announced their products will soon be on store shelves in British Columbia.
– Rob Gilroy
Delta 9 signs distribution deal with B.C.
Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. said Thursday the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) has authorized the company to supply non-medical cannabis to the BCLDB for retail sale in the province. “This marks the fourth major provincial supply contract for Delta 9 after Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba,” said John Arbuthnot, CEO of Delta 9. “As we ramp up our overall production capacity in 2019 and 2020, we will continue to seek additional distribution contracts for our cannabis products in Eastern markets." Winnipeg-based Delta 9 says it will begin supplying British Columbia with a variety of products under its premium Delta 9 brand name in the fourth quarter of 2019.
– Staff
Cardiologist tells Canadian Stroke Congress cannabis can clog arteries
Cannabis has harmful health effects such as clogging arteries and creating blood clots, a cardiologist and former Canadian Medical Association president said at the Canadian Stroke Congress in Ottawa.
Marijuana contains 70 chemicals and all of these may act in unpredictable ways on the heart and blood, said Dr. Chris Simpson, vice-dean in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University and professor of medicine. “The degree of knowledge we have about the potential benefits and harm of cannabis is really in its infancy,” said Dr. Simpson, adding that more thorough studies are needed to determine the impact of cannabis on vascular health. “But the harm seems to greatly exceed any potential benefits.”
The warning underscores the need for more clinical trials of cannabis as Canada’s newly legalized industry faces a generations-old stigma and lack of scientific evidence to back up many of the health claims that have been circulated. The psychoactive chemical THC attaches to receptors in the brain and blood vessel walls that can promote plaque growth in the arteries, something that is linked to vascular diseases such as stroke, and heart disease and failure, he said.
Dr. Simpson pointed to cyclic vomiting syndrome, which doctors are seeing in habitual users that causes incessant vomiting and dehydration, and recommended avoiding cannabis use, particularly synthetic products.
- Marcy Nicholson
Pure Sunfarms begins shipments to B.C.
Village Farms International Inc. today that Pure Sunfarms - 50-per-cent-owned joint venture - has started to ship cannabis products to the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch, that province’s wholesaler. Pure Sunfarms also began shipping product to the Ontario provincial wholesaler in September. “It’s a testament to Pure Sunfarms’ product quality, reputation and team, that in less than four weeks following the long-awaited receipt of its license amendment to sell directly to provincial wholesalers on September 6, it is now shipping its proudly B.C.-grown product," said Michael DeGiglio, CEO of Village Farms. The company says it is in discussions with other provincial distributors for potential supply agreements.
- Staff