CannTrust to resume cannabis sales in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario

Cannabis producer CannTrust said it’s returning to the Canadian recreational marijuana market this month as the embattled company looks to open a new chapter more than a year after being censured for serious regulatory violations.

The Vaughan, Ontario-based company plans to start by launching adult-use brands in December in three provinces, the company said in an emailed statement to Marijuana Business Daily.

“CannTrust will have products available in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario in December,” CEO Greg Guyatt  said in the statement.

“Additional markets and products will be added early in 2021.”

The company has no near-term plans to resume medical marijuana exports, Guyatt added.

“But it is under consideration for the future.”

CannTrust had been a leading player in the country’s medical cannabis industry before its federal licenses were suspended in September 2019, months after a whistleblower alerted regulators to illegal production.

Then, this past summer, the company received notice that the licenses for its Vaughan facility had been reinstated by Health Canada, the national regulator responsible for overseeing cannabis production.

“CannTrust has built a stronger, more efficient business to be highly competitive in the Canadian cannabis market,” Guyatt said in a news release issued Wednesday morning.

CannTrust said it plans to relaunch its medical products “in the near future.”

The company remains under creditor protection as it tries to resolve lawsuits and pursues a review of strategic alternatives.

CannTrust appointed Guyatt as CEO earlier this year, months after relieving Peter Aceto of those duties.

Aceto was CEO when the infractions were revealed.

In the wake of the incident, securities regulators and police launched an investigation into the infractions.

A spokesperson for the Ontario Securities Commission would not confirm whether the investigation had concluded or if it was still ongoing.

Matt Lamers is Marijuana Business Daily’s international editor, based near Toronto. He can be reached at mattl@mjbizdaily.com.