By Christian Granholm

November 26^th marks the 101^st birthday of the NHL –  what started as a few guys killing time on a frozen pond stretched into a multi-billion dollar industry enjoyed by millions worldwide and has become so deeply ingrained in the fabric of our nation that it has become partly synonymous with our cultural identity.

The first game was played on December 19^th, 1917. The Montreal Canadiens beat out the Ottawa Senators to win the inaugural match.

And Ottawa has been mad ever since.

November 26th

Wayland Group (CSE:WAYL) announce it has entered into an agreement to acquire 51% of UK based Theros Pharma Ltd., an early stage company that has successfully imported cannabis to the UK for patients with a prescription for medical cannabis.

This transaction enhances Wayland’s global growth strategy and will provide the Company with access to the UK market for sale and distribution of its products.

Recent UK legislation allows for the prescription of cannabis from a medical specialist via a regular pharmacy model. Access to this burgeoning market, with National Health Service insurance coverage for medical cannabis to ensure patient outcomes, is a key strategic element of Wayland’s global platform.

November 27^th

NanoSphere Health Sciences Inc. (CSE:NSHS) announce the Company has developed a new intraoral delivered cannabis product for the Canadian market, which produces similar effects to smoking cannabis, but is safer and more effective than edibles.

Regular consumers of cannabis know the effect of cannabis when smoked is very different than the effect when taken orally. The Evolve NanoGel™ uses NanoSphere’s patented delivery system to transport a full spectrum of THC, other cannabinoids and terpenes through the gums and directly to the bloodstream and into cannabinoid receptors. The result for both medical and recreational consumers are vastly more effective products.

“Oils taken edibly go through the gut where THC is transformed by the liver into a more psychoactive substance called 11 – hydroxy – THC (11 – OH – THC),” explains Chief Science Officer Dr. Richard Clark Kaufman. “Both have psychotropic effects, but they are quite different in the way they affect the human brain, and many people do not tolerate 11 – OH – THC very well.”

On the other hand, Kaufman points out that smoking or vaping cannabis may have long term adverse effects on the respiratory system. “With the NanoSphere Delivery System™ you get a very similar effect to smoking cannabis, but without risking damage to your lungs, and you don’t risk an overload of 11 – OH – THC as you would by taking an edible,” he said.

NanoSphere, its affiliate NanoSphere Cannabis International (NCI) and partner firm Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. will be applying to Health Canada for approval to have the NanoGel oil produced and sold in Canada.

————————————————————————————————————————

Harrys Manufacturing Inc. (CSE:HARY) announce it has developed a proprietary high throughput pre- roll technology and manufacturing process for use in the cannabis market.

Based on the existing process for rolling tobacco cigarettes, Harrys has adapted its current technology for potential use in the cannabis industry. Harrys is expecting to provide licensed producers in the cannabis space with the technology and capability to produce standardized, consistent and high – quality product that is packaged and private labelled to fit any demand.

“We are confident that our proprietary manufacturing process for pre- rolled cannabis cigarettes will provide a competitive opportunity for licensed producers looking to sell a high volume of quality cannabis cigarettes,” stated Kevin Kohanik, Harrys’ Chief Executive Officer. “With confidence in our proprietary process and current manufacturing capacity of 5 million tobacco cigarettes per week using our Molin Mark 8 manufacturing equipment and production line, we will be pursuing partnerships with leading producers that are eagerly interested in attaining leadership in this rapidly growing segment of the cannabis market.”

November 28^th

New Age Brands (CSE:NF) and Integrated Cannabis Company, Inc. bring CBD retail pop-up to X-Games 2019.

New Age Brands’ have teamed up with Integrated Cannabis Company, Inc. (CSE: ICAN,) and their X‐SPRAYS product line, a novel CBD spray delivery system, to bring an innovative CBD concept to the Colorado X Games on January 25 – 27, 2019. As of last week, the City of Aspen approved the first ever CBD pop‐up retail store in their city limits.

———————————————————————————————————————–

MGX Minerals Inc. (CSE: XMG)  reports that joint – venture partner A.I.S. Resources has commenced drilling at the Salinitas lithium project in Argentina.

Samples recovered thus far from a 43 – meter interval show a porous coarse sand which is conducive to the transmission of brines. The trenching program completed in October confirmed the presence of these porous sands.

November 29^th

Crop Infrastructure Corp. (CSE: CROP) announced it has signed a processing agreement with a manufacturing company that will produce oils, crumbles and distillates for sale in to the California market.

The  raw  material  will  be  finished  cannabis  from  CROP’s  Humboldt  County  farm  where  the  cannabis  is awaiting sale, being trimmed or drying. The farm is currently flowering 10,000 sq. ft of canopy for a late stage harvest and is working on the permitting for its 2019 expansion including a proposed 30,000 sq ft automated greenhouse facility.

———————————————————————————————————————–

MYM Nutraceuticals Inc., (CSE: MYM) announce that it’s subsidiary, Sublime Culture Inc. , has completed its migration to Health Canada’s Cannabis Tracking and Licensing System, or CTLS . The CTLS is a public facing web application that enables the submission of new license applications, request for amendments and license renewals in addition to submission of monthly tracking reports.

———————————————————————————————————————–

AREV Brands International Ltd. ( CSE – AREV ) announce that BC Bud Depot has commenced an intensive phase of developing new proprietary strains.

Seeing a deficiency in the variety and qualities of cannabis strains made available to the medicinal and recreational markets by Licensed Producers in Canada, BC Bud Depot has begun germination and selection from its extensive proprietary genetics vault of breeding stock for new strain development. The BC Bud Depot genetics vault is a collection of over two hundred unique elite cannabis strains collected over 20 years.

November 30th

West Red Lake Gold Mines Inc. (CSE: RLG) will begin exploratory drilling on its West Red Lake Project located in the prolific Red Lake Gold District, Northwestern Ontario.

Eight drill holes are being drilled to target gold mineralization. The portion of the NT Zone being drilled is located approximately 800 metres south of the former producing Rowan Mine

.———————————————————————————————————————–

PLUS revenue grows 617% to $2.56 million in Q3. Plus Products Inc. (CSE: PLUS) is the leading edibles manufacturer in California.

Third Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights

• Record Q3 2018 revenue of $2.56 million representing a 617% increase over the three months ended September 30, 2017 and a 60% increase over the previous quarter (Q2 2018).
• Retail sales of PLUS grew 104% quarter-over-quarter to $8.0 million in Q3, as measured and reported by BDS analytics

New Listings

The CSE welcomes the following new listings:

Cresco Labs Inc. (CSE:CL)

Dixie Brands Inc. (CSE:DIXI.U)

DionyMed Brands Inc. (CSE:DYME)

Spacefy Inc. (CSE:SPFY)

First Division Ventures Inc. (CSE:FDIV)

Always Be Closing

The Canadian cannabis market is unique – and yet those in the know have been talking this week about what’s going on in Oregon and possible parallels to our own burgeoning market.

While we are struggling to open retail locations and bring enough supply lines into play to satisfy our exploding demand, Oregon has long since been there, smoked that.

In fact, there is so much weed in Eugene (what they now call The Green Mile, due to the amazing number of pot shops located on it’s main strip), that retailers are selling eights for $5 and $40 for an ounce.

The Canadian government has said it fully expects prices to come down as competition increases – indeed, a lower pot price is part of the governments overall strategy to drive the black market operators out of business – but could we see our prices get as low as $5 for an eighth? And if that happens, can many of these new retail operations stay in business?

The only sure answer is that no one knows – but while prices are high there are phenomenal profits to be made. Who will be left standing once market saturation starts to spread out from the major metropolitan centres though…

We shall see. I suspect it will be those with the deepest pockets –  the conglomerates and the international sellers. The days of mom and pop weed shops might be numbered, even before they really begin.