Aphria to release short seller rebuttal once internal review is completed

Breaking several days of silence, an Aprhria spokesman says the company plans to issue a full rebuttal to a short seller report as soon as possible. The company says it will release a response to the report claiming it acquired a number of Latin American assets at “vastly inflated prices” once an internal review by an independent committee reviews the transactions. Last week, Aphria CEO Vic Neufeld, pledged to release a detailed line-by-line response to the report by Hindenburg Research and Quintessential Capital Management. The report alleges the Leamington, Ont.-based cannabis producer acquired assets in Jamaica, Argentina and Colombia in a transaction the short sellers claim benefited a group of insiders. QCM recently tweeted that it stands by its research and hopes Aphria “will address all the allegations exhaustively.”

Aurora adds to retail portfolio with High Tide investment

Aurora Cannabis bulked up its pot retail portfolio Thursday with a $10 million investment in High Tide, an Alberta-based privately held company with cannabis and cannabis accessory retail stores. High Tide has four cannabis retail stores in Alberta under the Canna Cabana banner, and a majority stake in KushBar and plans to open more stores in Alberta as well as expand into Ontario and B.C.. Meanwhile, Aurora has a 25 per cent stake in Alcanna, one of the largest private sector retailers of alcohol in North America, which has already begun opening pot shops across the province.

Ontario got the pot store rollout right with the six-month delay: Ed Clark

Ed Clark, who was Ontario’s top cannabis advisor under former premier Kathleen Wynne, said the province made the right move in delaying bricks-and-mortar pot shops months after recreational use of the drug was federally legalized. Clark stated in an interview on BNN Bloomberg that the delay will help consumers and the industry better understand the product and adjust to the realities of pot sales. Some Ontario municipalities have already opted out of allowing physical pot shops, including Markham and Mississauga, while others such as Ottawa are permitting cannabis retail in their jurisdictions.

How one pot company is bringing Democrats and Republicans together

If there’s one thing that can bridge the political divide, it’s cannabis. Tilray announced Thursday that it formed a 10-person advisory board that includes the former chairmen of the Republican and Democratic parties, Michael Steele and Howard Dean, respectively. Also on the advisory board are former foreign ministers of Germany, Joschka Fischer, and Australia, Alexander Downer. Politicians have slowly warmed up to the pot industry in a move some companies see as adding credibility to the nascent market. Former US Speaker of the House John Boehner and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney are currently advisers to Acreage Holdings.

Pot poised for another strong year on markets: Haywood Capital Markets

2018 appears to be a year investors would like to forget with most North American markets slated to end the year posting a loss amid heavy volatility. Haywood Capital Markets equity research team thinks pot may come to the rescue of some investors with the sector earmarked as one to watch for another strong run, Bloomberg reports. The research team stated the marijuana sector will continue to remain volatile in 2019, but the Canadian licensed producers that are performing well “operationally and within its supply chain” will be the winners.

DAILY BUZZ

52.7%
– The stake that Aurora Cannabis owns in Hempco Food and Fiber after the pot producer exercised an option to increase its ownership interest a day after the U.S. Congress voted on Wednesday in favour of adding industrial hemp as an agricultural crop in the latest Farm Bill legislation

Cannabis Canada is BNN Bloomberg’s in-depth series exploring the stunning formation of the entirely new – and controversial – Canadian recreational marijuana industry. Read more from the special series here and subscribe to our Cannabis Canada newsletter to have the latest marijuana news delivered directly to your inbox every day