Features

Okanagan cannabis winners

Published on November 27, 2019 by David Wylie

Okanagan cannabis companies have earned some national recognition at this year’s Canadian Cannabis Awards.

The awards, put on by Lift & Co., were handed out earlier this month at a black-tie gala in Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

Local companies represented us well.

Kelowna’s Valens GroWorks, which works with major LPs to extract and test a range of cannabis products, won the award for top extraction company.

DOJA  — you may have visited their coffee shop in downtown Kelowna — was a finalist for top non-profit, charity or community initiative for its Pardon campaign, working toward cannabis amnesty. The company was started up by Okanagan entrepreneur Trent Kitsch, then was bought by Canopy Growth.

Vernon-based BlueSky Organics won top nutrients company. They sell a cool craft cannabis kit, among a roster of products for growers.

Check out the full list of winners for top flower, oils and capsules.

Among them is Vancouver Island’s Broken Coast Cannabis, which won for top hybrid, while its Galiano, Quadra and Gabriola strains were finalists in their respective categories.

***

Meanwhile, Valens has bought an Ontario cider company in a deal worth up to $7.5 million

They purchased Pommies Cider Co., located near Toronto in Caledon, Ont.

“We are thrilled to add Pommies to our growing Canadian platform,” said Valens CEO Tyler Robson in a statement.

Cannabis drinks will be a major disrupter to alcohol sales. Ontario being Canada’s most populous province — and currently the largest market for legal cannabis consumption — makes this a strategic geographical move for the Kelowna company.

***

If you’re a cannabis investor, you’re likely saying ‘ouch!’ these days when you open your trading app.

As weed stocks continue to drop (where, oh where, will the basement be?), some cannabis companies are cutting jobs and stopping construction on projects.

Cannabis stock portfolios are commonly down around 40%.

Long-term investors are still looking for the deals, however, with many eyes on cannabis producer Aphria.

***

The National Cannabis & Hemp Conference is happening at the Delta Grand Hotel in Kelowna this week.

One of the featured speakers is the co-founder of what’s expected to be BC’s first Indigenous-controlled cannabis production company: NATIONS. It’s a late-stage applicant in the federal licensing process.

Conference-goers will hear from leading Indigenous experts in medical, legal, and business fields.

“Cannabis and hemp afford significant opportunities for Indigenous communities in the areas of health care, harm reduction, jobs, and economic growth. Social issues arising must be concurrently addressed and managed responsibly,” says Westbank First Nation Chief Chris Derickson.

Have something to share? Email me at [email protected].

okanaganz.com/oz

Also read the oz. on Castanet.