News

Quick Hits: Cannabis news in brief

Published on June 13, 2025 by Pat Bulmer

Photo: Contributed

Cannabis news in brief: ‘Professional speed rolling’; 642-kilo seizure; Union gets medical cannabis; Hunt for new CEO; ready to fight takeover

Joint-rolling competition

Think you’re a pro at rolling joints?

Then you should enter The Rolling Derby, “America’s first professional speed rolling competition.”

There will be live and online competitions.

“The Rolling Derby is an authentic celebration of speed, craft, and culture, challenging participants to roll the perfect joint against the clock,” a news release said.

“The inaugural season will feature both a global online competition open to cannabis enthusiasts worldwide, as well as a series of high-profile live events across California venues.”

People 21 and over from around the globe are invited to enter the online competition. Submissions are open until June 30.

To enter, participants must post a video to X or YouTube using the hashtag #rollingderby.

Full guidelines can be found at rollingderby.com.

The competition is organized by bud.com with involvement from X and RAW Rolling Papers.

Border guards stop illegal cannabis exports

Border guards in Montreal seized 642 kilograms of illicit cannabis that was headed for Spain.

The contraband was concealed in pallet bags inside cardboard boxes inside a container, the Canada Border Services Agency said.

The seizure was made April 30 by officers with the Montreal Marine and Rail Service and turned over to the RCMP.

At the Port of Halifax on May 5, CBSA intelligence officers seized 1,610 kg of cannabis, valued at $12 million, headed for Barbados.

The drugs were falsely declared as tiles in documentation and were concealed in 80 boxes inside a marine container, the CBSA said in a news release.

Cannabis was also seized as part of an investigation in February and March called Operation Blizzard.

Border services officers examined shipments, with a focus on mail, air freight and sea containers going to the United States. Fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, opium, ketamine and ecstasy were among items seized across the country, along with “249 cannabis and cannabis-related product seizures,” the agency said.

Cannabis added to union health plan

Union workers in Southern Ontario now have access to medical cannabis coverage.

IBEW 353 members can register to receive treatment through Starseed Medicinal, the medical arm of cannabis producer and distributor Entourage Health Corp.

“Each patient receives a personalized treatment plan tailored to their medical needs … coverage includes Starseed’s full product portfolio of capsules, oils, inhalers, sublinguals, soft-chews, patches, compounds, vaporizers, and dried flower and covers a multitude of conditions,” the company said in a news release.

Starseed practitioners specialize in chronic pain management, opioid cessation, insomnia and mental-health therapies, the company said.

Quick Hits

🏃‍♂️ Called off: Tom Longboat run cancelled by Six Nations after family decries local cannabis industry (CBC)

👵🏻 Nana’s high: Grandma and grandpa love toking, but docs don’t know risks (Sudbury News)

🦌 Oh deer! Home-grown cannabis also subject to chomping by hungry deer (The Columbus Dispatch)

💰 Big business: Canadian cannabis industry adds $9.1 billion to nation’s GDP (MJBizDaily)

❤️ Relationship advice: Snoop Dogg reveals the secret to his 28-year marriage (NBC)

Organigram looking for new CEO

Cannabis giant Organigram’s CEO will retire on Sept. 30.

Beena Goldenberg took the top job in September 2021 and has overseen growth that included expanding its flagship Moncton, N.B., facility and buying out Motif Labs. Most recently, Organigram bought American cannabis beverage company Collective Project Ltd.

The board of directors will start a search for a new CEO, the company said in a news release.

Organigram brands include Shred, Boxhot and Debunk.

Anti-takeover plan approved

High Tide shareholders have approved a plan that could help the company fight off a possible hostile takeover attempt.

A shareholder rights plan was approved at the company’s annual general meeting on May 29. Those plans are commonly used by companies to ward off unwanted takeovers. High Tide also recently offered stock options to employees, consultants and management.

High Tide directors endorsed the plan earlier this year after it was revealed rival SNDL had bought 5.4% of the company’s shares.

High Tide’s slate of company-endorsed directors was elected almost unanimously at the shareholders meeting. Company founder and CEO Raj Grover and four others were elected with more than 99% of the vote.

High Tide recently opened a new Canna Cabana store in Sherwood Park, Alta. That was the company’s 200th store across Canada and 87th in Alberta.