Dozens of legal cannabis producers, backed by billions in investor capital, were expected to put the black market on its heels, launching Canada to the forefront of an expanding global industry with the promise of mass-produced, high-quality, heavily regulated marijuana. But scandals, sluggish earnings and executive shakeups have replaced the soaring expectations of a year ago. Government data show that the legal market has only supplanted 14 per cent of the black market since legalization on Oct. 17, 2018, and some are concerned that further inroads may be difficult to come by. One of the biggest problems was that the industry’s early focus on scale — something that was largely a symptom of the push to raise capital ahead of legalization — distracted it from other important considerations.

La aventura empresarial de Jerry Martin ha durado apenas 24 horas, pero espera que su gesto tenga impacto en las leyes de su país. Martin, de 51 años de edad, abrió el miércoles una tienda móvil de drogas duras en el Downtown Eastside, un barrio de Vancouver afectado sobremanera por la ola de sobredosis en Canadá. El jueves, la policía de esta ciudad de la provincia de Columbia Británica anunció su arresto. El establecimiento ofrecía a sus clientes heroína, cocaína, metanfetamina y MDMA. El Ministerio de Salud de Canadá puso en marcha el 31 de enero un proyecto piloto –de tres años de duración- que despenaliza la posesión de varias drogas duras en Columbia Británica, primera iniciativa de este tipo en el país.

Advocates say it took a pandemic for steps forward in the call for a safe supply of drugs for people dealing with substance use problems and there’s no guarantee progress will continue. On March 26, the provincial government of British Columbia introduced new clinical guidelines after the federal government announced a number of exemptions that would be made to the Controlled Substances Act. The changes would allow doctors, nurses and pharmacists to prescribe a safe supply of medication to people dealing with substance use disorder in support of social distancing in the face of two public health emergencies. “Prices are going up and supply is going down. People are getting desperate, it’s really scary.”

Tilray Inc. shareholders approved the merger with Aphria Inc., creating a cannabis powerhouse that’s both the largest medical marijuana company in Europe and a major player in Canada’s recreational market. The company’s ambitions don’t end there, though. Irwin Simon, the former head of Aphria who is now chairman and chief executive officer of the combined company, has ambitions to transform it from an edgy Canadian marijuana company into a global consumer products giant, potentially selling cannabis in everything from drinks to skin creams to snack bars. The company will have a market value in excess of US$8 billion, making it a giant in the fast-growing cannabis industry.

Tilray and Aphria, two of the biggest marijuana companies in Canada, announced plans to merge and create the world’s largest cannabis outfit. With existing medical and recreational cannabis businesses in Canada and Europe, the new conglomerate is positioning itself to eventually enter the biggest weed market in the world: the U.S. “The next big prize is the United States,” said Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy. Cannabis is still illegal under U.S. federal law, so the company won’t be able to export into the country unless laws change under President-elect Biden. And as of now, the new company, to operate under the Tilray brand, does not have any US-based cannabis cultivation or retail licenses. (See also: Aphria, Tilray merging to create world's biggest cannabis company)

The warning signs were there all summer, but it wasn’t until the first business day of September that the reckoning arrived for Canadian cannabis companies in need of money. There were already clear signs that the days of easy money for cannabis companies were over. The total amount of money raised by the sector had plunged over the summer. With little access to fresh cash, Canada’s licensed producers now face a new reality. They have spent years focused on financings to fund their expansions, paying little mind to positive cash flow. Without new capital, they will have to scrap construction projects and scale back growth plans. “The vast majority of the companies are going to go bankrupt.” (See also: It’s time for Canada’s cannabis companies to get their governance houses in order)

U.S. states and cities are seeing increases in opioid-related overdose deaths A paper issued by the American Medical Association this summer found that 41 states had reported spikes in overdose deaths during the pandemic. As of mid-July, for example, more than 1,100 residents in the Chicago area had died from opioid-related overdoses in 2020, about double the number during the same period in 2019, according to ProPublica. By August, opioid overdoses in South Carolina had increased 50% over the same period last year. In some cities, current estimates are that these deaths could far exceed those from Covid-19. But despite these increasing death tolls, much of the recent political momentum behind calls for safe injection sites in the U.S. has faded as public health priorities shift.

At least 165 more British Columbians died of illicit drug overdoses in the first month of 2021, more than double the number of deaths recorded last January. An average of more than five people died each day in the deadliest January recorded since the overdose crisis was declared a public health emergency nearly five years ago in April 2016. January was the 10th consecutive month where more than 100 people died as pandemic-driven border restrictions contributed to an increasingly toxic street supply, and progress dragged on promises of safer supplies for substance users. The devastating report comes just weeks after the province confirmed 1,726 people died in 2020, making it the deadliest year for overdoses.

Aurora, a Canadian listed cannabis company, has sold its Jamaica asset for less than its CDN$4.5 million ­valuation in order to get cash. “The company also accepted an offer to sell its Jamaica property for gross proceeds of CDN$3.4 million,” said Aurora in a market filing. The property in Jamaica was idle but would have formed the base for its local operations. Across the local sector, sales between licensed ­dealers in Jamaica – for instance, farmers selling to herb houses – have been falling. The CLA has issued some 60 licences since October 2017 and 15 export authorisations to seven licensees since November 2018. All licensees that have applied to export cannabis have been granted export authorisations.

As cannabis companies eye expansion in European and South American markets, Asia is poised to be a new frontier for some major Canadian pot players. Despite being the world’s most populous continent, it is estimated that Asia’s cannabis usage is about two per cent, or 85.5 million people, according to London-based cannabis data provider Prohibition Partners. However, several Asian countries are on the cusp of embracing medical cannabis and the continent could see its marijuana market grow to as much as US$5.8 billion by 2024, Prohibition Partners said in a recent report. That’s caught the attention of some Canadian cannabis players including Canopy Growth Corp.

British tobacco company Imperial Brands is getting into the cannabis business with a $123 million investment in Auxly Cannabis, the Canadian company run by former Tweed founder Chuck Rifici. The British firm — which has no ties to Imperial Tobacco Canada — will take a 19.9 per cent ownership in Auxly through a convertible debenture, at a conversion price of $0.81 per share, which is a 11 per cent premium to Auxly’s closing share price as of July 24, 2019. Auxly’s stock soared 20 per cent in early trading today to $0.88 a share. Imperial will also get one out of five board seats at the cannabis company, which will give it some oversight of corporate governance at the company. Auxly, for its part, will obtain the rights to Imperial’s vaping technology.

British Columbia is asking the federal government to grant the province an exemption under federal law to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use. If the request is granted B.C. would become the first jurisdiction in Canada with the exemption. B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson sent a letter to Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu on Feb. 3 formally asking for the exemption. The request is in line with Premier John Horgan’s repeated calls for the federal government to decriminalize small amounts of illicit drugs. (See also: 2020 was B.C.'s deadliest year ever for drug overdoses, coroner says)

The new guidelines were announced in late March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic — concerns about the drug supply becoming even further adulterated because of disrupted global supply chains and about people being able to access their treatment while in self-isolation. "It will ensure that less people turn to the poisoned drug supply and it will ensure that less people have to venture out to pharmacies regularly and still put themselves at risk and put the community at risk," said B.C.'s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy in late March. (See also: As homeless people were moved out of Oppenheimer Park, many were prescribed a safe supply of drugs)

Ottawa has approved a pilot project that will allow health officials in B.C. to distribute clean opioids to drug users to use as they please, marking one of the province's most radical efforts to address a fentanyl-saturated drug supply that has killed more than 1,000 people this year. Details are still being finalized, but Mark Tyndall, executive director of the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), said the idea is that people at high risk of overdose, once registered, will be able to pick up hydromorphone pills at either supportive housing units or supervised consumption facilities, two or three times a day, and self-administer them. Most would likely choose to crush, cook and inject them.

The BC Coroners Service said 170 people died of an illicit drug overdose in May, the highest total ever recorded for a single month in provincial history. It's also more people than have died from COVID-19 in B.C. all year. "It's frustrating to see the number of illicit drug deaths go up and to reach a new high... It's sad to see this many people impacted, losing their lives," said Andy Watson, a spokesperson for the coroners service.The province said 167 people have died of COVID-19 since B.C.'s first case of the virus was confirmed six months ago. The annual total for overdoses in B.C. was 554 as of May 31. (See also: An emotional Dr. Bonnie Henry urges family, friends to reach out to drug users after 170 die in May)

The provincial government says safe prescription drugs will be provided to people who use substances amid fears the illegal drug supply is becoming increasingly toxic as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. B.C.'s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy announced new guidelines for prescribers to provide medications to patients, including home delivery and giving prescriptions through virtual visits. British Columbia currently faces two public health emergencies: one related to the rapid spread of COVID-19, the other the ongoing opioid overdose crisis declared an emergency in 2016. (See also: ‘Safe supply’ of drugs good news in Vancouver, but is it only here for the pandemic?)

The BC Coroners Service is urging the province to “immediately pursue” expanded access to safer supply as a new report on toxic drug deaths finds many of them have been “largely preventable.” The Coroners Service says in a statement that it is pushing the government to increase access for those who are at risk of “significant injury or death” to receive the safer supply without a prescription. “The experts on the panel were thoughtful, committed, and practical in identifying an approach that we feel can guide future efforts to expand access to viable alternatives to an illicit supply of substances that is only increasing in volatility and toxicity.” (See also: B.C. Coroner’s death panel recommends issuing drugs without prescription to stop overdoses | B.C. rejects coroner panel’s call to expand access to safer-supply program)

British American Tobacco said it will buy a nearly 20% stake in Canada-based cannabis producer Organigram for about 126 million pounds ($175.8 million) as it seeks to expand beyond its main tobacco business. Big tobacco and liquor companies in North America have already made large investments in the nascent industry, with cannabis seen as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes. With top Democratic lawmakers in the United States also promising to decriminalise marijuana use, analysts and experts predict record investment in the industry this year. The deal will give BAT access to R&D technologies, product innovation and cannabis expertise, it said in a statement, with an initial focus on natural remedy cannabidiol (CBD).