Toronto-based firm to open world’s first psilocybin research lab in Jamaica  

Is the ‘magic mushroom’ the next big recreational drug to see promise in the medical market? One Toronto-based firm believes so, with Field Trip Ventures announced plans to build the world's first legal research and cultivation facility for psilocybin-producing mushrooms. The company, whose founders include several former Aurora Cannabis Inc. senior executives, will begin construction on a 3,000 square-foot research lab this month in the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, where psilocybin-producing mushrooms are legal. "The mental health options that we have today are broken," said Mujeeb Jafferi, Field Trip's president, in an interview with BNN Bloomberg at the company’s downtown Toronto offices. Field Trip’s work in exploring how psychedelics – which include psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA – can be used to treat anxiety or depression comes amid growing public sentiment toward the drugs with several U.S. cities decriminalizing the drugs. Meanwhile, former Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton has been appointed as an advisor to another Toronto-based company exploring the medical effects of "magic mushrooms."

Tilray shares plummet 90 per cent one year after stratospheric rise 

A year ago, Tilray was on top of the cannabis world with a stock that climbed north of US$300 on the Nasdaq. A year later, the company’s shares are down 90 per cent, erasing more than US$17 billion of market value. That’s a stunning reversal in a sector which has been beset by sagging stock values, Bloomberg reports. Tilray continues to draw interest from short-sellers, who’ve collectively made US$112 million off their Tilray positions this year, according to financial analytics firm S3 Partners. The company’s short interest remains strong, at US$256 million or 38 per cent of float as of Sept. 18, according to S3 Partners’ data.

More provinces returning CannTrust’s products back to the beleaguered pot producer 

Some Canadian provinces are sending CannTrust’s pot back to the embattled cannabis producer in the wake of its licence suspension from Health Canada. The company said Alberta is shipping $1.3 million worth of its products back to the company, while Nova Scotia’s provincial wholesale also plans to stop selling CannTrust products and to return the product it is holding at its distribution centre. PEI will not sell the company’s products until CannTrust’s license suspension is lifted. Last month, Ontario pot wholesaler returned CannTrust’s products valued at roughly $2.9 million back to the company. The returns come as CannTrust’s ability to produce and sell cannabis in Canada was formally suspended by Health Canada, the company announced on Tuesday.

MediPharm extends Cronos partnership with vape manufacturing deal 

MediPharm Labs announced a white-label manufacturing deal to provide vape devices for cannabis producer Cronos Group, the Toronto-based company announced Thursday. The two-year deal, which an option for renewal, sees MediPharm provide filling of high-quality formulated cannabis concentrate, labelling and packaging services for Cronos Group’s Cove brand. Earlier in the year, MediPharm and Cronos agreed to a multi-year bulk resin supply agreement that was valued as much as $60 million depending if certain conditions would be met.

DAILY BUZZ
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-- The number of cannabis store licences issued by British Columbia, according to the province’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch

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