Author: Anne-Marie Fischer

Anne-Marie Fischer is a cannabis educator and writer, engaged with cannabis brands and organizations across the globe. After serving the United States and global cannabis industries, she has recently returned home to Canada to serve the legal cannabis industry with education and engaging content.

Recent Stories by Anne-Marie Fischer
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Anne-Marie FischerOctober 17, 20189min00

It’s been gracing the front of almost every newspaper, on the tongues of this year’s political candidates, and becoming the topic of choice around the water cooler: The end of cannabis prohibition in Canada has finally come.

Canada is now the first G7 country to legalize cannabis on the federal level, making it legal to sell cannabis across the country to adults over the age of 19 (or 18 in Quebec and Alberta).

Cannabis has been under prohibition in Canada since 1923 when it was included in the Narcotics Drug Act Amendment Bill, and later in the Act to Prohibit the Improper Use of Opium and other Drugs. Rising in popularity in Canada in the 1930s and experiencing a resurgence in the 1960s, Canadians have been fighting for the decriminalization of cannabis since 1972.

Canada never decriminalized cannabis.

Cannabis was made legal for medical purposes in 2001 with the passing of the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, evolving into what is now known as the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). It wasn’t until Justin Trudeau took the office of Prime Minister in 2015 that the legalization of cannabis was on the table, and Bill C-45 or “The Cannabis Act” passed in Canada’s Senate on June 7, 2018.

As of today, it is now legal to purchase, grow, and use cannabis in Canada.

What does this mean for Canada and the lives of every day Canadians? Here are some important aspects of what Canada’s legalization truly means for Canada and its citizens:

Purchasing Legal Cannabis

While all Canadians will be able to log on to their respective provincial government’s sales portal, not all Canadians will have the opportunity to visit a brick and mortar shop today. For instance, in Ontario where Doug Ford recently reversed the Liberal’s position on keeping cannabis in the public realm, there will be no brick-and-mortar stores where there was once the promise of 40+ Ontario Cannabis Stores. In Northwest Territories, there will be no legal cannabis stores open amidst concerns of the potential for cannabis addiction.

Age to Purchase Cannabis

In every province other than Quebec and Alberta, the legal age to purchase cannabis is 19 (18 in the aforementioned provinces). Recently, as Quebec changed the provincial government, there have been threats to raise the legal purchase age in Quebec to 21 amidst growing concerns about the age to purchase legal cannabis being too low, in light of the fact that the human brain is still in development until the age of 25.

Possession of Cannabis

As of today, all adults who are legal to purchase cannabis may possess up to 20 grams of legal cannabis, dried or in equivalent non-dried form. You may also share (but not sell) up to 30 grams with another person. According to the Government of Canada, 1 gram of cannabis is equivalent to: 1 gram of dried cannabis, 5 grams of fresh cannabis, 15 grams of edible product (although edibles won’t be sold in Canada yet), 70 grams of liquid product, .25 grams of concentrate, or 1 cannabis plant seed.

Federal law does not limit the amount of cannabis that may be possessed within a single private home.

Growing Cannabis

As of today, every household in Canada will be able to legally cultivate up to 4 plants for personal use, with the exception of Manitoba and Quebec. In British Columbia, it’s law that plants must be hidden from public view. The right to cultivate up to 4 plants per household cannot be transferred from one household to another.

International and Domestic Travel

There’s been a bit of a back and forth about the issue of Canada-U.S. border crossings, and there had been a strong threat that would disallow any workers from the Canadian cannabis industry from entering the U.S. Last week there was a bit of a relief as it was announced that workers would “generally” be allowed to enter the U.S., as long as they didn’t have a history of use with the plant. The issue of denying anyone who has ever used cannabis is still a topic of debate.

Domestically, while it’s forbidden to pack bags of cannabis in a plane’s cargo, each person can legally fly within Canada with 30 grams of cannabis.

Driving Under the Influence of Cannabis

Canadians who use cannabis better be prepared to follow similar practices to driving while under the influence of alcohol. Driving under the influence of cannabis has become a hot topic within Canada’s law enforcement, as well as a heated human rights issue as Canadians feel stigmatized and punished for cannabis use.

According to Canada’s Department of Justice, those who are caught driving a motor vehicle with 2-5 nanograms of THC in their system could face a maximum fine of $1,000. If caught with over 5 nanograms, it’s a mandatory $1,000 fine for the first offense, a mandatory 30 days imprisonment for a second offense, and a mandatory 120 days imprisonment for a third offense.

The Dawning of a New Era?

Some early and current critics of Canada’s legalization see the confines of legal cannabis in Canada to be echoing of prohibitionist sentiments. We will have to wait to see how legal cannabis in Canada unfolds, as truly, it’s something this country is new at, truly, all Canadians are completely unsure of how it will turn out.

Let’s just take a collective deep breath in of our legal cannabis, and hope for the best.

 


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Anne-Marie FischerOctober 12, 20184min00

Leamington, Ontario based Licenced Producer Aphria (APHQF) is reporting a solid start to the fiscal year 2019, and a 35% increase in grams sold in Q1-2018, despite some recent labor pool-related setbacks that resulted in a “rebalancing of inventory”.

Aphria reported revenue for the three months ending August 31, 2018, at C$13.2 million, representing a 10% increase over the prior quarter’s revenue of C$12 million and a 117% increase over the same period of 2017, which was C$6.1 million. They attribute this growth in revenue to an increase of wholesale orders and 100kgs of dried cannabis and cannabis oil that was sold to third-parties for clinical trial purposes.

Not all reports by Aphria were positive, showing a loss in the first quarter of 2019 due to a labor shortage in Leamington, Ontario. The first quarter of 2019 saw an adjusted gross margin of 63.6%, with an adjusted gross profit of C$8.4 million, compared to C$9.4 million with an adjusted gross margin of 78.7% in the prior quarter.

During this period, Aphria had to make the decision to dispose of 13,642 plants prior to harvest due to a “lack of qualified local labor”, leading one week’s crop rotation in the Aphria One greenhouse to outgrow its optimal harvest period. Without labor to harvest the plants, the company made the tough call to dispose of the affected plants to ensure that the next week’s harvest would be grown in optimal conditions.

Aphria acknowledges that had this loss not occurred, the gross profit margin would have been higher. This incident prompted Aphria to go on a hiring streak, doubling their greenhouse staff for their planned expansion to be fully operational by the end of Q2-2019.

Net income for the three months ending August 21, 2018 was C$21 million or C$0.09 per share as opposed to C$15 million or C$0.11 per share in the prior year, with the company attributing this increase to their long-term investment portfolio, including their investments in Liberty Health Sciences and Hiku Brands Company Ltd, as well as an increase in value of biological assets as a result of expansion projects.

Earlier this week, Aphria was in the news as rumors that tobacco giants Altria (makers of Marlboro cigarettes) were in talks with Aphria for a partnership, which Aphria later denied. “That there is no agreement, understanding or arrangement in place with a potential investor at this time. Aphria will advise the investment community of any material changes, if and when they occur, in accordance with applicable disclosure requirements,” they said in a statement.

This morning, Aphria invited those interested to attend a conference call, for which an audio replay will be available until November 9. For more information visit www.aphria.ca.

 


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Anne-Marie FischerOctober 12, 20183min00

Earlier this week Cresco Labs LLC announced plans for a reverse takeover of Vancouver-based Randsburg International Gold Corp [NEX: RGZ.H], a move that will allow Cresco to go public and seek approval to list its common shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”).

The proposed takeover will be structured as an amalgamation, arrangement, takeover bid, share purchase, or similar form of transaction. The transaction will require Randsburg to change its name to Cresco Labs Inc, consolidate its outstanding common shares, replace all directors and officers of the company with those nominated by Cresco, and create a new class of non-participating super voting shares that will be issued to certain principals of Cresco.

“The Canadian market has been very supportive of the U.S.-based cannabis companies and we look forward to having expanded access to capital that will help us accelerate our strategic growth plan,” said Cresco’s CEO Charles Bachtell.

Cresco is currently operating in six states as a cultivator, processor and distributor. They are responsible for bringing some of the most recognized cannabis brands to market, including Cresco (elevated everyday cannabis), Mindy’s Edibles, RESERVE, and remedy.

Earlier this month, Cresco announced that they recently closed a funding round that resulted in $100 million in capital, that will be used to expand to the 31 states that offer some form of legalized cannabis program. “This capital raise demonstrates our commitment to growing our national footprint and establishing dominant brand presence in key markets across the country,” Bachtell said of the recent fundraising success.

Cresco is one of the largest cannabis companies in the United States, with operations in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, California, and Arizona. Cresco prides itself not only on its operations and brands, but also the education programs that aim to provide customers and physicians with information on cannabis in a straightforward and intuitive way.

Further details on the reverse takeover of Randsburg by Cresco will be included in a subsequent listing statement to be prepared and filed with the Canadian Securities Exchange and in subsequent news releases.

 


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Anne-Marie FischerOctober 3, 20185min00

PRØworks brings new leadership that brings “cannabis from the black market to the supermarket”

PRØHBTD, which markets itself as the “premier online destination for modern cannabis enthusiasts” has just announced a new consulting arm PRØworks, that brings a heap of experience from the mainstream CPG and entertainment worlds to the table.

PRØHBTD has been recognized for producing digital and online content and representing over 60 of the cannabis industry’s most recognizable brands like Defonce.

“Our company’s mission is to bring cannabis from the black market to the supermarket,” said PRØHBTD CEO Drake Sutton-Shearer, “This requires enterprise-ready capabilities that business leaders can engage with to help them understand the complex and challenging world of cannabis”

This new arm of their company brings four notable executives to the consulting team of PRØworks, creating a wrap-around consulting strategy for brands they work with.

Craig Binkley, a veteran of Coca-Cola with a strong portfolio of global work will help companies understand the cannabis consumer, product, and market to inform and support their strategic initiatives. He specializes in transformational marketing that will undoubtedly bring an asset to PRØHBTD clients as they navigate how to reach the modern cannabis consumer among strict marketing regulations.

Leading PRØHBTD’s finance team and strategic mergers and acquisitions initiatives are Frank Carrùre, former SVP of corporate development at 21st Century Fox and CFO/COO at Fun Technologies. His experience in scaling businesses has contributed to a 20x exit for its investors through a Canadian public listing and is motivated to bring this to PRØHBTD.

Glenn Frese is working with PRØHBTD to help brands build digital and physical marketing programs to connect cannabis brands to global audiences. He brings experience as a former executive at Sony, Maker Studios, and Disney where he has overseen digital and traditional marketing, social media, and direct to consumer initiatives. Frese will oversee all aspects of consumer and B2B marketing, social media, content marketing, events, strategy and lead generation for PRØHBTD and its PRØworks clients.

Stepping into the role of Executive Producer at PRØHBTD is Gary Bryman, who will produce on-demand videos through the PRØworks division called RØCKET. He brings over 20 years of Hollywood production experience, successfully executing of creative content including content for Disney, Universal, MTV, ABC, NBC, Netflix, and ads for Super Bowl XXXVII.

In June, PRØHBTD announced plans to go public in Canada after raising $12 million through fundraising, following acquiring seed funding totaling $4 million. The company planned to invest their funds into content creation and staffing, which includes this new announcement of hiring these notable executives to represent PRØworks and the PRØHBTD brand.

“We are honored to have these fantastic new folks join us in our journey as we continue to accelerate the mainstreaming of cannabis through audience, content, and products,” says Sutton-Shearer.

Content from PRØHBTD is syndicated across 15 different networks, including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon, Android TV, Dailymotion, allowing cannabis brands to reach 100 million consumers.


Anne-Marie FischerSeptember 26, 20183min00

We know by now that customers in cannabis retail stores have come to expect loyalty programs, but how are the results actually stacking up in terms of profit?

Recent data provided by SpringBig is revealing the impact of loyalty programs on cannabis retail store customer traffic.

“Smart campaigns that drive store traffic are the single-most effective method to drive increased sales and positive ROI,” says SpringBig CEO Jeff Harris. SpringBig provides loyalty program technology to the cannabis industry, tapping into the point of sale systems like MJFreeway and Green Bits.

Data offered by three cannabis retailers by SpringBig shows insights into the best strategies that have customers signing up for loyalty programs, and actually ensuring they’re coming back.

Uncle Ikes, a Seattle-based retail chain has found that loyalty customers visit 2.4 times more than non-loyalty customers and spend on average $194 in a 6-month period on cannabis purchases. In addition, they spend $25 more per transaction than non-loyalty members.

“Leveraging behavior-based, trigger-based communication ensures that the right message is getting to the customer at the right time,” says Harris.

Remedy Columbia or Maryland uses SMS messaging to reach their loyalty members and found that loyalty members visit 5x more than non-loyalty programs. They report loyalty members spend an average of $150 more than non-members in a 6-month period while spending $10 more than non-members in a visit.

Las Vegas’ Releaf reported loyalty members spend twice as much, $150 more in a 6-month period, and $10 more per transaction than non-loyalty members.

The key to loyalty programs? “Giving members access to a store or chain’s special offers before the general public sees them while being guaranteed best pricing on all specials,” says Harris.

“Being able to offer bonus points for certain product categories and/or brands provides the member with the ability to purchase certain products and earn additional reward currency that they can redeem for free or at a discounted price,” he further explained.

What should be avoided? Points Per Visit programs, according to Harris. “Awarding points per visit versus per dollar spent does not allow the store to properly manage their loyalty program budget and measure ROI,” he said.


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Anne-Marie FischerSeptember 17, 20184min00

Chris Russo is asking for the help of the cannabis community to finish Lady Buds, a documentary following California 6 women in the cannabis industry for over a year as they transition from the grey to legal markets.

Calling them “modern-day superheroes”, the film follows Karyn Wagner, who supports farmers in Humboldt County; Felicia Carbajal, a restorative justice advocate for minorities; Chiah Rodriques, a second-generation cannabis farmer; Sue Taylor, who is opening a dispensary for seniors; and long-time cannabis culture participants The Bud Sisters.

Each woman has unique struggles, from their social justice quest to hold industry officials accountable, to getting farmers’ products to the legal market, to facing licensing issues while opening a dispensary.

“I had a panic attack,” says Chiah Rodriques of the new regulations for legal cannabis in Calfornia. “To have the threat of the looming industry, the tsunami wave coming, we’re all feeling trepidatious and nervous about it,” she explains as she prepares to move into legal markets.  

The profiles of each woman offer a “personal portrait” into the struggles, and triumphs, of this new era of legalization in California.

Kickstarter Campaign

The Kickstarter campaign comes after recognizing that resources to finish production of Lady Buds have run dry, with Russo describing the project as “mostly self-funded on sweat and credit cards”.

“We can change hearts and minds around cannabis healing through the power of film,” says Russo in her Kickstarter campaign, “I have reached a point where I can’t bring this film to completion on my own, which is why I’m turning to you and the community at large for support on Kickstarter.”

“Lady Buds is not just my film — it’s OUR film,” says Russo.

The film promises to be filled with twists and turns when some truths about the legalization process come to the surface.

Why should the cannabis community rally around Lady Buds?

“Because you support women’s films, you care about social justice, and you care about cannabis as medicine,” says Russo, “You’re helping expose the truth about legalization.”

So far, the Kickstarter campaign has reached half of it’s $50,000 goal.

Donate to the campaign here, where you can get incentives for your donation from credit in the film, to a consultation with Russo, or be invited to the Lady Buds wrap party: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ladybuds/lady-buds-the-definitive-documentary-on-women-in-w/description


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Anne-Marie FischerSeptember 12, 20185min01

Brightfield Group, which has established itself as a thought leader in the CBD space, just announced projections for the hemp CBD industry to become a $5.7 billion market by next year, with a projection of growth by nearly 40x to $22 billion by 2022.

These projections come in anticipation of the passing of the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, which would fully and unambiguously legalize hemp and its extracts across the country.

“We believe that blowing market sizes and growth figures out of proportion would do our customers and market a great disservice,” said Brightfield’s Senior Analyst Jamie Schau, “This year’s hemp CBD forecasts might seem like a departure from that view, but I assure you they are not. These numbers reflect the substantial changes we anticipate will follow full federal legalization of hemp-derived CBD.”

There has been a long-standing industry-wide confusion on the legal status of hemp in the United States. The 2014 U.S. Farm Bill has been misinterpreted for years in leading people to believe that hemp is legal. The legalization of hemp in this context only permits the growing of hemp under a state pilot program or for the purposes of academic research. As of now, hemp, and CBD are deemed illegal, a fact supported by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill is anticipated to be a “game changer” for the hemp-CBD market, as it will fully and unambiguously legalize hemp and its extracts.

Brightfield Group anticipates that hemp-derived CBD will “become the next major nutraceutical phenomenon.”

Vote Hemp said that since the passage of Section 7606 of the Farm Bill, “Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research,” hemp cultivation in the U.S. has grown rapidly. The number of acres of hemp grown across 19 states totaled 23,343 in 2017, more than double the number of acres from the previous year.  The group also said that state licenses to cultivate hemp were issued to 1,424 farmers; and 32 universities conducted research on the crop.

The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) reported that in 2015, retail sales for hemp products reached $600 million, which is much lower than the $5.4 billion for marijuana sales in 2015 as reported by ArcView. HIA says that hemp sales on average grow by 15% each year and that most of that growth can be attributed to more people buying hemp-based body products and supplements.

Most of the hemp for these sales was imported from China and Canada. Hemp imports for 2015 were nearly $78.2 million according to U.S. trade statistics. However, there is no trade data for products like hemp-based clothing or construction materials, paper products or even carpet made from hemp. Thus, it’s difficult to determine what exactly the hemp market is in the U.S.

This report comes on the heels of a research study that Brightfield conducted in partnership with HelloMD, which showed the potential for CBD products to help users cease use of traditional medicines.

Brightfield Group’s 2018 Hemp Derived CBD Study, can be found for purchase at https://www.brightfieldgroup.com/plans/hemp-derived-cbd-report.

 


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Anne-Marie FischerSeptember 7, 20183min00

This week, the first ever salary and jobs guide for the cannabis industry was released by Vangst. The platform, that considers itself “the Monster.com for weed jobs” used data from over 1200 cannabis companies (of which 70% offered medical cannabis programs) to create the snapshot of the state of jobs and salaries in the U.S. cannabis market.

Overall, the report shows that while U.S. job growth is fairly stagnant, jobs are booming within the cannabis industry, with a 690% growth in job listings between January 1, 2017, and August 1, 2018. Vangst forecasts the growth of cannabis jobs by and an additional 220% by 2019. Average salary increased 16.1% across the board between 2017 and 2018.

With this growth in jobs comes the opportunity for a more inclusive and diverse workforce.  “Given the industry is so young, current businesses and influencers in the space have the opportunity to build the cannabis industry into the most inclusive industry in the world,” says Vangst CEO Karson Humiston, “Cannabis businesses need to build diversity recruiting programs and prioritize building highly diverse companies from the start. While we are seeing many companies do this well, there is room for improvement.”

The salary section highlights common positions within the industry, positing salaries from the top, high, average, and low end. The positions that were analysed include Director of Extraction (low end salary $47,000, top salary $191,000), Director of Cultivation (low end salary $47,000, top salary $250,500), Compliance Manager (low end salary $45,000, top salary $149,000), Dispensary Store Manager (low end salary $41,500, top salary $98,000), Outside Sales Representative (low end salary $28,000, top salary $150,000), Budtender (low end $12/hr, top wage $16/hr), and Timmer (low end $11.50/hr, top wage $14.50/hr).

“We were surprised to see the drastic difference between low salaries and top salaries,” says Humiston, “It’s very clear the companies that are scaling the fastest are those which are paying on the high end and prioritizing recruiting top talent from other industries.”

In what areas can we expect to see the most growth? According to Humiston, “Cannabis technology companies are growing extremely quickly. The demand for CTOs, front and back-end engineers, product managers, business intelligence managers, and designers is rapidly increasing.”

The Jobs and Salary Guide can be found at https://vangst.com/.


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Anne-Marie FischerSeptember 6, 20183min00

Earlier this year, MJardin Group, North America’s largest operator of turnkey cannabis facilities, announced the creation of a new company, GrowForce Holdings Inc (“GrowForce”).

GrowForce has a mission to become one of the premium licensed producers (LPs) in Canada, and other federally legal markets worldwide. Shares were offered to all of the securities holders of MJardin after GrowForce completed a private placement financing of its shares.

Within GrowForce’s portfolio in Manitoba and Ontario includes a 120,000 square foot flagship production facility, and it plans to acquire more facilities across Canada. GrowForce is currently headquartered in Toronto.

One important flagship of GrowForce’s work is the opportunities that will be provided to Canada’s First Nations in terms of job creation and retail market development. GrowForce announced that Bridging Finance Inc, an established leader in private debt infrastructure financing to First Nations, has agreed to provide significant project financing for various opportunities that engage the First Nations communities.

“We are pleased to continue our strategic partnerships with MJardin and now GrowForce in Canada, which includes a deeper focus on our collective First Nations strategy of which we are extremely proud to actively support,” said David Sharpe, CEO of Bridging Finance and a member of Tyendinaga First Nation.

As the royal assent approval of Bill C-45 in Canada neared earlier this June, there were significant concerns raised by Canada’s First Nations about the lack of consultation for First Nations in the legal Canadian cannabis space. This partnership moves the country closer to ensuring that First Nations are equally represented in Canada’s implementation of Bill C-45, set for October 17. 

Bridging Finance and MJardin have established the Bridging Infrastructure Fund that has a particular focus on private debt financing for infrastructure and consolidation of entities within the cannabis sector. The project has committed over $75 million thus far, with over $60 million of projects in the pipeline.

“We are excited to launch GrowForce into the Canadian market as a fully-financed and proven operator of cannabis assets with a deep bench of strategic and operational talent,” said Rishi Gautam, GrowForce Chair and CEO.

MJardin is planning a reverse take-over of Sumtra Diversified Inc. and expects to list on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) in a few weeks.

 


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Anne-Marie FischerAugust 29, 20183min04

Early this week, Plus Products filed a preliminary prospectus for its IPO, and is planning to list shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange once it achieves the listing requirements.

The prospectus seeks to raise $15 million through the offering, for which the lead underwriters are PI Financial and Canaccord Genuity.

Plus Products plans to use 40% of the capital raised to expand capacity, within the California market only where they have seen a tremendous amount of growth. Their products rank as the fourth most popular edible in all of California, according to BDS Analytics. The company’s mission is to “make cannabis safe and affordable”, offering options in low-dose edibles.

Plus Products is owned by its subsidiary, Carberry, and currently offers six infused-gummy products to customers in California. The gummies are sold in over 200 dispensaries and have made their way into delivery services such as Eaze. Once they have saturated the California market, the company plans to expand into other legalized states, and possibly Canada.

The company was recently valued at approximately $25 million and plans to pursue a much higher valuation through the increased capital from this offering. The company claims to trade at 1.7x revenue.

Plus Products’ offerings are ambitious, to say the least. They only incorporated on March 29, 2018, and have reported net losses due to operational costs, and anticipates more losses as operational expenses are increased. At present, according to the Prospectus, the company did not generate operating revenue and is in the negative for cash flow at present. During the first half of 2018, Plus Products generated $2.45 million in sales. In 2017, they generated $1.07 million in sales.

Nevertheless, the prospectus has an optimistic tone, pointing to the success in the California market and the patent-pending features of the products that make it unique such as extracting cannabis oil so that there is no smell or taste to the gummies.


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