CannTrust shares extend losses after halting all sales amid Health Canada probe

It was another day in the red for CannTrust. The company’s shares plunged more than 17 per cent on Friday after announcing it would halt sales of all its cannabis products as Health Canada probes the company for illegal production. CannTrust announced the voluntary hold on activity "as a precaution" while Health Canada reviews the company's facility in Vaughan. CannTrust also announced the company’s board of directors has established a special independent committee to investigate the regulatory foul-up. The company told BNN Bloomberg in an email it is “working closely with the regulator through the review process and expects to provide further detail of the duration of the hold and other developments as they become available.”

CannTrust CEO briefly breaks silence, replies to critics on personal Instagram account

Meanwhile, CannTrust CEO Peter Aceto briefly broke his silence on Friday for the first time in several days after the Canadian cannabis producer was caught in a compliance controversy. Aceto, who has not commented publicly on the company’s non-compliance audit from Health Canada since Wednesday, responded to a user on Instagram who criticized the executive for not being transparent with investors, among other things. “21 years a trusted banker of the people & 9 years the CEO. Then 9 months later a thief/fraud? Ah, doesn’t make sense. Let the dust settle,” Aceto replied. Shortly after BNN Bloomberg inquired about Aceto’s comment to verify it was indeed written by him, the account became private and could not be viewed publicly.

48North completes planting for outdoor cannabis crop; plants more than 250,000 seeds 

48North Cannabis is done planting its outdoor pot. The Toronto-based cannabis producer said in a release it completed the planting of its first outdoor cannabis crop at its Good:Farm facility located in Brant County, Ont. The company said it successfully planted more than 250,000 cannabis seeds, which includes 10 unique strains the company said is proven to grow well outdoors. 48North said it should harvest two crops this year, one in late-August and another in mid-October. The outdoor facility is said to yield as much as 40,000 kilograms of dried cannabis annually.
 

DAILY BUZZ

$7.38
-- The price of a gram of cannabis in Canada, up 3.1 per cent from the prior week, according to the Cannabis Benchmark’s Canada Cannabis Spot Index. This equates to US$2,557 per pound at current exchange rates.

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