Marijuana Business Magazine September 2018

¬NDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS What's HAPPEN¬NG National & ¬nternational News Developments ( ) Approved medical cannabis products will be covered by the country’s National Health Service. Ontario Adopts Private Retail Plan for Adult-Use Cannabis Market Ontario’s new retail framework for recreational cannabis will start with online-only sales when legalization takes effect Oct. 17, with a network of privately owned stores expected to be in place by April 1. The new retail plan is a complete overhaul of the previ- ous government’s commitment to opening only a small number of publicly owned stores. Under the new program, the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) will serve as wholesaler for the provincial market; municipalities will be able to exercise a retail “opt-out” clause, and consumption will be allowed only in private residences. Experts and academics had said the previous plan to open 40 government-owned stores in the first year and 150 by 2020 was inadequate. Second Voluntary Cannabis Product Recall Issued in California Just days after The Bloom Brand and its manufacturer- distributor, Greenfield Organix 4th St., voluntarily recalled four products sold between July 1 and July 19 – the first marijuana product recall issued in California’s new regu- lated market – a second was underway. Los Angeles-based Lowell Herb voluntarily recalled two stock-keeping units (SKUs) July 27 after a testing lab reversed its initial finding that a specific batch passed mus- ter and was cleared for retail sale. It’s “an expensive hit we will be taking,” said David Elias, CEO of Lowell Herb Co., because the company has decided to destroy all the recalled pre-rolls instead of trying to remediate the product and get it back to market. United Kingdom Legalizes Medical Cannabis Medical marijuana will be available by prescription in the United Kingdom by this fall after being formally approved by the government. After the U.K.’s medical cannabis market opens, it will immediately become one of the largest in Europe. The surprise move by Home Secretary Sajid Javid will make cannabis-derived medical products available to a wide swath of the U.K. population, though the government is still deciding what products will be available. The Department for Health and Social Care and the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency plan to develop “a clear definition of what constitutes a cannabis- derived medicinal product,” so they can be rescheduled and prescribed. Only approved products will be rescheduled. 18 • Marijuana Business Magazine • September 2018

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