The CEO of Tilray, a licensed medical cannabis producer in Canada, says the failure of Vancouver to regulate unlicensed dispensaries is negatively affecting the company’s business results.
Greg Engel said the proliferation of federally illegal dispensaries in British Columbia “has been a challenge,” according to a report in the Georgia Straight.
Only 7% of the cannabis grown by licensed producers has been shipped to British Columbia, even though almost half of the country’s registered medical marijuana patients live in the province.
Tilray announced in June it would eliminate 61 positions, and Engel said the company has delayed a plan to expand its 60,000-square-foot facility to one that’s five times larger, according to the Straight.
Tilray and other licensed cannabis companies in Canada have run into multiple headwinds as of late, in part because of the proliferation of illegal dispensaries and slower-than-expected patient growth.
The amount of medical marijuana sold by licensed producers has more than doubled since the second quarter of 2014, but stockpiles have jumped fourfold, according to the Straight.
Still, the country’s changing MMJ landscape has created opportunities for producers. A new law issued in July allows companies to produce and sell cannabis oil, a change from the old rules that allowed them to only sell and ship flower. Some companies, including Aphria, already plan to expand their operations to produce and sell oils.
Licensed producers expected all patients to be happy paying high prices for poorly grown product that they can now spray. I do not want to ingest the pesticides they are allowed to use. Home growing is safer for me.
Good pst Krissi!
Canada also stipulates only THC and CBD be disclosed, and not CBN. If the LP’s have unsold product, we don’t get to know how old the product is?
Oh poor baby LP’s – huge companies waltzing in to take advantage of low income in chronic pain patients. Hard to feel sorry for you, compassion clubs and small dispensaries is who I Choose to Purchase from, caring individuals not a big company trying to move in based on a new law (not even passed yet). Sit down and shut up LP’s – your greed will never end, and your crappy products won’t be bought by the people who need them most!
The LP’s can’t take the competition?
Perhaps it would be more accurate to reality to write an article about how the MMAR and Health Canada are harming and screwing with patients(sick people!!!) with their inadequate and flawed model for Medical Cannabis.
So the LP’s want dispensary owners and operators, many patients themselves, imprisoned so they can protect their own bottom line?
SHAMEFUL.
If you think Medical Cannabis Patients will buy ground up Gamma Radiated seedy weed you all idiots. I am a licensed patients and medical grower, I will never buy that crap and if somehow they shut down all 4 Dispensaries that I am a member of, I will go back to the black market, and call some old buddies. I licensed 4 years ago to be legal, but but quickly found out that Health Canada’s Licensed producers are selling overpriced crap, this is not Medical Cannabis, Why doesn’t our Health Minister know Cannabis Quality?, and why would they sell product that is not strong enough dose to be Medically useful?????
Lol the statutory laws are null or void. Because our Canadian monarch died in 1901 so there for all statutory laws could not be reinstated so the statutory law they are pushing on us is a against our will. God will be with us and we don’t need a permit to live off the land