(Globe Newswire) Toronto — Avicanna Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of plant-derived cannabinoid-based products, invites interested parties to participate in a conference call with Aras Azadian, chief executive officer, and also Phil Cardella, chief financial ffficer where Mr. Azadian and Mr. Cardella will discuss the company’s Full Year 2023 financial results.
The company will file Full Year 2023 financial results after the close of market on April 1, 2024 and will host an earnings call at 8:30 am ET on April 2, 2024.
ByLubna El Elaimy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Burnaby Beacon
At the city’s Planning and Development Committee meeting on Mar. 13, staff presented the new liquor and cannabis policy. The new policy, which results from months of planning, public engagement, and review of the old policy, aims to cut down on red tape, simplify the licensing process, and reduce council involvement in the minutiae of the liquor licence application (LLA) process.
Cody Bator, planning analyst with the city, and Johannes Schumann, director of urban development and planning, presented the new policy to committee members and responded to questions. The policy review was first brought to the committee in May 2023. In its Sept. 14 newsletter, the Beacon advertised the city’s public engagement survey. According to Bator’s presentation, 395 residents responded to the survey, and a report with the findings is available online.
“In general, the majority of respondents were neutral or supportive of expanded liquor service and were neutral or unsupportive of expanded cannabis service. Focus discussions and informal consultation sessions were also held with Fraser Health, industry, business, and internal departments,” Bator said.
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A key difference between the new and old policies is that the new policy eliminates the requirement for rezoning before obtaining a licence. According to the new policy, Ed Kozak, general manager for planning and development, will review applications and provide comments and recommendations to the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB). Applications will only be referred to city council in cases where engagement with neighbouring residents and businesses and the RCMP identifies serious concerns related to the proposed location.
“The current process for evaluating and processing liquor primary licences provides the city with significant oversight and control when responding to new and amendment licence requests,” the report said, adding that this level of oversight and control has disadvantages. The current rezoning process for a liquor primary establishment takes at least six months, and city processing times take at least two more months. “Cumulatively, this existing process can be overwhelming and costly for small business operators, discouraging some from opening a new establishment or making an amendment application.”
Mayor Mike Hurley described the current process, saying, “Some of our rules are pretty crazy,” adding his support for reducing red tape and streamlining the process.
But the new policy is not without controversy, at least not in council. On Mar. 13, Coun. Sav Dhaliwal expressed concerns about the policy and what it might mean for Burnaby residents.
“If the public is comfortable, are we trying to really now make it say that, ‘oh yes, it’s okay to add more liquor stores because businesses want it?’ The need hasn’t been demonstrated,” Dhaliwal said, referring to the survey results. “I’m supportive of streamlining, but certainly, there ought to be a cap on the number we are going to allow.”
Schumann replied that the new policy does not automatically mean an increase in the number of liquor licences granted, especially with the province’s moratorium on new liquor licences until 2032.
“People can buy a licence existing somewhere and bring it to Burnaby; in other words, 50 licences can move in right now without having a new one issued by the province,” Dhaliwal replied. “They can buy one in Kamloops and move it here or from Prince George.”
Cannabis applications being an even bigger hot-button issue, the mayor suggested limiting the number of possible new cannabislicences to five new public licences and five private ones.
Currently, Burnaby only has three government-owned cannabisstores, one each in Metrotown, Brentwood, and Big Bend. Under the new policy, the city will accept applications for privately-owned stores.
“We have to grow into it rather than force feed it,” Hurley said regarding the limit he suggested on cannabis stores. “There will be a lot of opposition, let’s not kid ourselves, to cannabisstores.”
According to the council report, the current process hampers the ability of private cannabis operators to apply for a licence and open a store.
The report said, “The rezoning process is particularly onerous for private retail cannabis operators, as the LCRB requires an operator to present a lease or lease agreement at the time of application. A lengthy rezoning process may either deter a landlord from renting the space to a private cannabis operator or cause the operator to incur significant rent costs.”
Even before we laid the foundation for our GlassHouse Botanics facility in Whitewater Region, Ontario, our objective was to produce European Union – Good Manufacturing Practices (EU-GMP)-certified medicinal cannabis. Nearly five years after our initial Health Canada licensure, we were thrilled to achieve GMP certification, effective January 2024.
What we learned along the way:
1. You can produce superior quality cannabis with consistent THC and excellent microbial levels without irradiation, even in a greenhouse: At GlassHouse Botanics, we achieve consistent cannabinoid values by using consistent inputs; following established irrigation/fertigation and plant maintenance schedules, and controlling light exposure, ventilation, and CO2 application levels. While painstaking, by adhering to GMP during cultivation, we can ensure a consistent THC.
Irradiation is not necessary to achieve good microbial levels. Our flower is mechanically trimmed and manually manicured. Even when each bud is handled, we consistently meet microbial specifications – we employ strict sanitary controls throughout our production process to reduce risk of contamination.
2. You cannot “partially” operate under GMP: Adherence to GMP means consistent, comprehensive application of its principles. Think of GMP as a symbiotic microorganism that spreads throughout all processes – it seeps from post-harvest steps into cultivation practices. One day, you discover that every facet of your operation aligns with its standards.
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3. You can adjust processes for better yields & higher THC while maintaining GMP certification: To remain profitable and meet market demands in the fast-paced, ever-evolving cannabis industry, you must introduce new cultivars, improve production practices, and stay efficient. GMP principles are compatible with value-added changes, if you manage them and validate them. Adhering to GMP may slow down the pace of your change implementation, but it will force you to assess changes before acting on them, resulting in a controlled process with little room for failure.
4. Not all GMP-certified companies apply GMP principles across operations AND not all products exported into EU-GMP-regulated markets meet GMP requirements: Unfortunately, a number of cannabis producers – even some GMP-certified companies – have found regulatory loopholes and ways to exploit them. Some loopholes can be attributed to the newness of the cannabis industry and relative inexperience of inspectors in applying GMP to cannabis. Still, others are related to export partners, and varying laws and leniency in countries of export.
At GlassHouse Botanics, our objective has never been to get our product out the door at all costs. We are committed to doing business the right way, and that means earnestly following GMP to produce high-quality cannabis that meets or exceeds specifications every time.
True compliance means never having to worry about 1) being caught shirking rules; 2) loopholes being closed once inspectors catch on; or 3) your product clearing customs.
For us, finding a business partner with equivalent integrity and high standards to support us through the certification process in Germany was essential.
5. GMP is not for everyone: Earning certification involved meticulous refinement of our processes over the course of several years. It required the creation of state-of-the-art facilities with pharmaceutical-grade processing rooms; continually purified airflow through HEPA filters; and constantly sanitized walls, floors, ceilings, and equipment. It meant developing stricter SOPs and equipping our capable team to implement them.
Not all companies have the capital needed for the initial and ongoing investment. There are higher laboratory fees, and the cost of hiring and training additional staff to run a more complex quality management system (QMS). There are costs associated with stability studies, calibration activities, qualification of equipment and HVAC, for example.
Ultimately, earning GMP certification was worth the cost. It opens a broader market and provides assurance of consistently safe product.
Mariana Blackis the QAP and chief compliance officer at Glasshouse Botanics – a privately owned producer with an EU-GMP certified facility in Whitewater Region, Ont. that has been exporting cannabis for nearly two years.
University of Calgary scientists want to conduct a trial on the use of psilocybin as a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). The trial will be carried out at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and will include 128 individuals with alcohol use disorder.
Each of the participants will undergo sessions prior to and after treatment; they will each also be assigned to trained therapists to take them through talk-therapy.
In a news release, the trial’s principal investigator, Dr. Leah Mayo, revealed that team members would start the study with psychotherapy then administer psilocybin and observe whether this improved the therapy’s effectiveness.
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in different species of hallucinogenic mushrooms. This compound induces a psychedelic high when ingested, altering an individual’s sense of time, as well as their emotions and their thinking.
The psychedelic will be administered to the participants in large or small doses that will last for an eight-hour period. The psychotherapy sessions will take place over a five-week period, with the primary focus being to elicit meaningful changes in habits to decrease and/or stop abusing alcohol.
Mayo explained that psilocybin allowed the brain to be more receptive to developing new habits.
The trial’s coprincipal investigator, Dr. David Hodgins, stated that researchers were focused on using science to support the use of psychedelic therapy as a first-line treatment. Hodgins, a professor of psychology at the institution, added that the goal of the treatment mode being used for the trial, motivational enhancement therapy, was to create long-term and sustained positive habits.
This approach helps individuals to learn for themselves why they want to make changes to their lives and what strategies they can use to be successful.
Hodgins then noted that individuals would have a better chance at sustaining progress and living their lives differently if they were in touch with their own personal reasons and had a good understanding of themselves.
The trial is supported by the Canadian Institutes in Health Research. This independent agency is comprised of 13 research institutes conducting world-class research focused on studying pressing health issues of strategic importance to Canada. The agency believes research has the power to change lives and supports the development of programs and policies that can improve the health of individuals and whole communities.
The psilocybin administered during the trial period will be provided by Filament Health. This is a clinical-stage natural psychedelic drug development company focused on demonstrating the effectiveness and safety of botanical psychedelic drug candidates in humans.
Individuals interest in taking part in the trial can email pactlab@ucalgary.ca for more information.
Other drug-development entities such as atai Life Sciences N.V. (NASDAQ: ATAI) are also conducting their own psychedelic drug-development programs. It is likely that in a few years, patients battling various mental-health issues could have these novel formulations available legally to address their clinical needs.
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In this edition of Confessions of a UK Hydro Store, our buddy Slim, owner of Slims Place in Watford and Hounslow, opens up about life in a grow shop. Slim is a fixture in the local hydro scene, known as a smart, hard-working guy who loves everything to do with plants. Here, he shares tales about his time in the industry and what makes him tick.
What do you like the most about being a hydro shop owner?
I love the ever-changing industry and customer interaction. From the beginning, all facets of the industry have continuously evolved, and Slims has been a part of the evolution and revolution. Every day is a learning experience, and we specialise in passing down data-driven and experience-led knowledge. I spend every day of my life working in some part of this industry, and it’s what I do as a hobby and profession.
How do you grow plants in your shop?
Our current setup uses Invisibilis Planta in a secret system in a current trial by a famous space agency. The staff enjoys working with this cultivar as the leaf drop is zero, and maintenance isn’t time-consuming. The hues are amazing, and it has the beneficial properties of keeping pests and diseases away.
How important has your location been to your success?
I have worked at nine different locations throughout London, and all have been successful. I currently have two shops with high shutter doors in Hounslow and Watford based at the end of industrial estates; this allows for easy loading and unloading of goods. However, our honest advice and service are paramount for customer retention.
How do you deal with angry customers? Have you ever had to throw someone out of your store?
I feel their pain. I’m an angry customer sometimes, so I try to understand the client’s point of view. You can turn a bad situation into something good by showing empathy and accepting responsibility if you are at fault. I would only throw someone out for stealing. Being angry, argumentative, or having a bad day is welcome. We will help you leave in a better mood.
What Is the most common question you get at the store?
Is SLIM there? Or how do I make big flowers and fruits? The answer is TWELFTY!
What do you do to create long-term customer loyalty?
We are truthful, however painful to customers. We genuinely care and make a client’s problems our own. We are open until 19:30 on weekdays and were one of the first shops to do a seven-day week. The amount of time spent with a customer is not determined by how much money they spend but by how much time they have to stay and learn.
What advice do you give a grower who is just starting?
Too many cooks spoil the broth! Don’t listen to pseudoscience; investigate your knowledge sources and discover how they are supported by science. Spend most of your budget on environmental control and only increase your expenditure on other products once you have achieved that.
What are your favourite products?
CO2, R.O. water, and appropriate spectrum light. Then, the measuring tools for EC, pH, water temperature, PPFD, room temperature, humidity, sun up and down, dry backs, leaf temps, WC, and brix are the most necessary. UV sunglasses are essential for protecting your eyes.
If you never ended up running a hydro shop, what do you think you would be doing today?
I’d provide a private banking solution for legitimate entities conducting cash transactions to be able to deposit without fear of closure. Many businesses have had their bank accounts closed with funds held only to be returned later without explanation. This practice leaves businesses that have paid millions in taxes over decades in a precarious position with the constant threat of another closure for no apparent reason around the corner.
A woman who says she accidentally handed out illegal cannabis edibles on Halloween in 2022 has received a $5,000 fine from a provincial court.
The ruling, handed down on March 25, 2024, came after charges against her husband were stayed in 2023.
Sheldon Chochinov and his wife, Tammy Sigurdur, said they gave out THC candies to multiple people, including young people under the age of 18, on October 31, 2022. Sigurdur previously pleaded guilty to charges of supplying cannabis to a young person and possessing cannabis that is not packed, labelled or stamped.
Sigurdur told the court that she wasn’t aware she had packed up the illegal edibles because she wasn’t wearing her glasses. She said the edibles, which were packaged to look like Nerds and other branded candy, were her husband’s property. He also said he did not notice that the candy he was handing out was the cannabis-infused edibles.
The couple say they didn’t realize what they had done until people began posting pictures of the candy on social media. The husband and wife then provide the police with a detailed statement.
Several local media outlets have covered the newest ruling in detail, including CBC and the Winnipeg Free Press.
Similar infused Nerds knockoff candies made headlines recently when several young people in Halifax were sent to hospital after consuming the illicit infused candies.
Why The Death Of An “Evil” Person Won’t Change Anything
From An Occult Perspective
By Bernhard Guenther
A lot of people “cheered” when it was announced that Jacob Rothschild died, just like they cheered when Kissinger or any other “evil person” died, as if they go to “hell” and the world is a better place, and that’s it; as if you can “get rid of evil” when certain people die.
Klaus Schwab is getting old, too, but even when he dies, nothing will change, even though many people will be happy about it.
Most people are caught up in the tunnel vision of the 3D manifestations of the “Matrix,” like the Deep State, the Globalists, the Central Bank, the Fed, the WEF, the Illuminati, Zionists, or any other “secret society” or institution they focus on, missing out on the occult hyper-dimensional aspect of the “matrix control system.”
Most of the powerful psychopaths in power are nothing more than empty vessels and puppets of powerful anti-divine asuric/archonic occult hostile beings.
Many murders and other violent crimes (including pedophilia and rape) committed by psychopathic individuals (be it individual killers, rapists, or politicians in positions of high power giving orders to kill or engaging in sexual ritualistic abuse) can be attributed to these occult malevolent entities.
They possess or work through their human puppets to feed off the “loosh” of suffering – it’s a very “delicious” frequency “meal” for these beings, for humanity is not on “top of the food chain” – frequency-consciousness speaking.
Remember what Hilary Clinton said about Qaddafi: “We came, we saw, he died!” followed by a big laugh. Frequency-wise, it is no different than laughing or being joyful about the death of what you see as an “evil” person.
The same goes when you project hate and anger on these individuals. It feeds them just like the emperor in “Star Wars” wanted Luke to get him to hate him and to give in to the dark side, so you become what you fight against. It’s a version of a “trap of agreement” with an occult hostile force.
So-called “Satanic rituals,” SRA (Sexual Ritualistic Abuse), and MK Ultra trauma-based programming are practiced to bring in/call in these powerful occult forces to gain more power and purposely possess specific individuals.
When their human host dies, nothing changes, nor does killing the human host change anything “for the better.” The occult hostile entity riding them will survive and attach to or possess a new host.
The occult hyper-dimensional agenda is outside the human conception of “time and space” and beyond human lifetimes. The death of a vessel/puppet due to old age or unforeseen circumstances is accounted for, and that is how humanity has been manipulated for thousands of years.
It’s also the reason behind the “in-breeding” and choosing who they marry and have children with – for a powerful asura demi-god can do its work over generations and lifetimes and affect multiple people within a family or group of people [not just blood-related].
That’s also the enormous blind spot in people who believe that the solution is just to arrest all the bad guys or get rid of them by just killing them off.
For example, the death penalty and capital punishment won’t change anything, either. It will only give satisfaction to the demonic being (and to the human ego living in the illusion that “justice is done”), which will then look for another suitable human vessel to use.
Hence, as Sri Aurobindo noted:
“…From this point of view, you will see that capital punishment is absurd. The man who murdered was under the possession of the impulse of some [occult] being. When the man is executed, the being takes possession of another. Some vital beings want to have their play here….”
Humans are too embedded in a tunnel vision of the dogma of material reality and corrupted religious dogma (with the idea of “heaven” and “hell” and an external god who “punishes” or “rewards” – a matrix program in itself). Hence, they mistake symptoms for causes and don’t recognize the spiritual reality with countless beings acting on and through them.
You may ask, what is the “solution” then?
First of all, be careful of black-and-white thinking. It’s not about not doing anything, turning a blind eye to evil, falling into “blind compassion,” or some New Age Love and Light cop-out.
Ultimately, it’s about a complete shift in consciousness via inner AND outer work beyond trying to “fix the world” on a superficial 3D level and trying to “eradicate evil” externally [which is futile, anyway]. We still live under the illusion that the external world is separate from our inner reality.
It is also about understanding spiritual science [beyond the five senses], occult, and divine laws in the bigger picture of the evolution of consciousness and getting out of the age of materialism that denies a spiritual reality.
Ultimately, a true “awakening” is not an intellectual, informational awareness of these topics or the “matrix” but a complete inner shift of the human being on a consciousness level via the process of soul embodiment, which also implies conscious action and is not about retreating or escaping from life. It doesn’t happen by itself. Conscious efforts are necessary.
I have also written about all the “solutions” and what can be done in-depth over the years on my website with many resources and references. My wife Laura and I also have over 120 podcast episodes of our “Cosmic Matrix Podcast,” where we talk about it, the work necessary, and related topics with practical guidance and suggestions.
There is no quick summary answer. It requires study, work focus, and effort. As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. It also doesn’t imply that I “know it all” or that I am”fully awake.” No, I’m in the process myself with many more lessons to learn and integrate on this path of Ascent and Descent.
Nowadays, people also lack the attention span, focus, and sincere will to do this work; they want to be spoon-fed shortcuts with the least effort on their own (or someone else to do the work for them and waiting for a savior); hence, the matrix forces have an easy play with them.
Here’s a start:
The main question is also what is “good” and “bad” and who determines that?
The ego’s subjective view of what the personality thinks is “good” in its conditioned, superficial, and oversimplified black-and-white mental perception is not always what the Divine determines necessary from a “supra-mental vision” in the context of the evolution of consciousness or what the true Self within strives towards based on Divine Laws and Karmic lessons, collectively and individually.
“[…]Each thing, each being, each force on the earth moves toward a special absolute, expressing it more or less accurately and often perversely, but despite all the flaws and perversions, it obeys an intimate law that impels it towards the one truth of its being – even the leaves on the same tree are all unique. If it were not for that absolute and unique truth at the center of each one of us, we would crumble.
This is also why we are so attached to our own smallness and stumblings, because we do sense the truth that is behind them, growing behind them, as if “protected”, Sri Aurobindo said, by that very smallness and all those stumbling. If we got hold of the whole truth at once, we would turn it into some gnome in our own present image!
Truth has nothing to do with thought or good deeds, though these may be steps on the way; it has to do with a vastness of being. And the growth process is slow and difficult.
But the mind, which sees only the present surface of things, seeks to trim off all the rough edges, purify by exclusion, and reduce its world to a uniform, righteous, and equitable truth.
It decrees, “This is good, that is bad; this is friendly, that is hostile.” It might want to eliminate all the Nazis from the world or all the Chinese, for instance, thinking they are quite unnecessary calamities.
And the mind is right, by definition, since it is designed to be reasonable and since it, too, expresses a mental or moral absolute that has its place and purpose.
But this is not the whole truth; it is only one point of view. Some will say that our partiality, our mind, our morals are necessary instruments for living in the world as it is now, and this is true. We do need to be partial.
But this is also why the world is not whole. We should never lose sight of the fact that these are transitory instruments, and that we must aim at replacing these stopgaps, as Sri Aurobindo called them, with a consciousness that is vision and power.
Finally, this is why we lack power, for if we possessed power, we would, with the best of intentions, precipitate a catastrophe through ignorance or shortsightedness. Our shortcomings are necessary shortcomings.
Not only does the supramental [Divine] consciousness capture all the points of view, but also the deeper forces at work behind each thing as well as the truth within each thing: it is a Truth-Consciousness – and because it sees all, it automatically possesses Power.
We are powerless because we do not see. To see and to see totally necessarily means to have power. But the supramental power does not obey our logic or morality; it sees far into space and time, and it does not try to do away with evil in order to save the good, nor does it work through miracles; it frees the good that is within the evil, applying its force and light on the dark half so it consents to its luminous counterpart.
Wherever it is applied, the immediate effect is to touch off a crisis; that is, to place the shadow in front of its own light. It is a stupendous evolutionary ferment.[…]”
– Satprem, from “Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness”
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