The Growing Summit

An upcoming conference in downtown Kelowna will bring together legacy and legal cannabis growers.

Organizers of the Growing Summit, held on March 31 and April 1 at The Laurel Packinghouse, say this is a perfect time to make key connections at “a pinnacle-moment” for the industry.

“An important focus of the conference is networking and building community,” said Stephanie Ostrander, chair of the summit’s planning committee.

“We recognize this is how craft growers will succeed in this corporatized industry – by working together and building buying power, sharing the cost of services like QA (quality assurance), accounting, security and information-sharing.”

In the early days…

To many, it became brutally apparent early on in legalization that the evolution from conspicuous grow-ops to big ol’ mechanized factories was going to be bumpy. Poor quality flower from some of the biggest names – fill in the blank(s) – left even the staunchest supporters grumbling.

Yes, there were diamonds in the larf: 7Acres, Whistler Cannabis Co., Tantalus Labs. But overall, large-scale factories weren’t ideal due to the often underwhelming quality and higher price compared to the black market.

Now with Cannabis 2.0 products more widely available, competition is even tougher. That means consistent quality is paramount to bringing repeat business. Those who buy the majority of buds are the discerning type. Craft cannabis is definitely a thing.

A conference in the heart of the B.C. Interior to talk about how to grow really great pot is a timely event for anyone serious about gleaning insight.

B.C. bud has a reputation for a reason.

The venue itself is a historic symbol of the Okanagan Valley’s growing prowess. And maybe you’ve heard of a little place called Nelson.

Fun and games

Keep in mind that the Growing Summit isn’t like an HR conference… no offence to HR people.

It’s a cannabis conference and this isn’t all serious business. There is fun to be had hanging out at “the sidewalk scene.”

This event does draw some of the finest growers so expect to be handed a sample or two.

All meals are served at the venue and there are plenty of opportunities to make friends.

If you are interested in going, use the promo code “420S” for 20% off the price; food is included.

(If asked, say you heard it from the oz.)

This story was also featured on Castanet in By The Ounce.

BC Tweed uprooted, 500 jobs cut

By Simon Gerard

The B.C. cannabis community took a huge hit this week, with Canopy Growth cutting around 500 jobs as they suddenly closed their BC Tweed facilities in Delta and Aldergrove. On the morning of March 4, all staff at both facilities were called into a meeting, where they were told everyone was terminated immediately. Canopy Growth also announced they will no longer be opening a third greenhouse in Niagara-on-the-lake, Ont. 
 
A press release later that day from Canopy explained the situation under the title “Canopy Growth Announces Production Optimization Plan in Canada.” It has a nice ring to it for any stockholders, but not for the 500 B.C. residents out of a job. Looking great in press releases when these facilities opened in February 2018, the reality one year later is three million square feet of empty production space. This news comes one month after Aurora Cannabis announced the exit of CEO Terry Booth and the elimination of around 500 full-time staff members.
 
CEO David Klein said in a statement: "When I joined Canopy Growth earlier this year, I committed to focusing the business and aligning its resources to meet the needs of our consumers. Today's decision moves us in this direction, and although the decision to close these facilities was not taken lightly, we know this is a necessary step to ensure that we maintain our leadership position for the long-term.” 
 
This comes as another massive sign that the largest players in legal cannabis were vastly overreaching with their production plans. The press release also states “The Canadian recreational market has developed slower than anticipated, creating working capital and profitability challenges across the industry.” 
 
While Canopy Growth didn’t take any direct shots at the government in their press release, Steve McLean, a now-former employee, was quick to as he left the Delta facility. He told Global News that the closures had a lot to do with the government “not opening the doors as they should.” 
 
“No dispensaries really in B.C., hardly any in Ontario and where there are dispensaries, there is not a lot of people buying from them,” he said. “The black market is flourishing and the legal market is having troubles.”
 
But Canopy’s press release did mention one interesting point in regards to government hurdles: “...federal regulations permitting outdoor cultivation were introduced after the company made significant investments in greenhouse production. The company now operates an outdoor production site to allow for more cost-effective cultivation, which will play an important role in meeting demand on certain products that rely on cannabis extracts.” 
 
When it comes to flower, quantity over quality only appeals to investors and not the bulk of consumers, especially when they can sometimes find better quality and prices in the black market. But prior to outdoor growing being an option, licensed producers could only pitch costly indoor grows for any scale production. And nobody scaled bigger than Canopy. Now with cheaper outdoor production and popular extract-based options like vapes, drinks, and edibles, we might see a realistic and sustainable Canopy Growth emerge. That said, Canopy has delayed their drinks and vapes with customers and stockholders waiting until then to decide how realistic and sustainable they really are.

Valens about to drop CBD iced tea

The Valens Company says it is about to release its first cannabis-infused drink in Ontario.

Basecamp, a CBD-dominant iced tea, will be available at some Ontario retail stores in the coming days.

While Valens said in a statement the drinks will flow into other markets, there is no mention of their availability in B.C. and the company could not be reached for comment.

The Kelowna-based extraction company will launch Basecamp under an agreement with Iconic Brewing.

Summit, a THC-dominant citrus water, is expected in the coming weeks.

Both drinks were developed using the SōRSE by Valens emulsion technology, which transforms cannabis oil into water-soluble forms.

Valens says its drinks will have a faster onset time than others and a significant reduction of offset time.

They have the potential to achieve more than one-year shelf life.

Dad jokes

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