News

Quick Hits: Cannabis news in brief

Published on March 27, 2026 by Pat Bulmer

Photo: Contributed

Cannabis news in brief: Sweetgrass makes sweets; Avicanna product goes on trial; Toronto border guards seize kilos of weed; Purple City Genetics come to BC; Pistol and Paris goes Bonkers; Ontario Canna Cabana unionizes; Cannabis Expo in Charlottetown, PEI; Old becomes new with ‘Hot Knife’

New gummies from the Kootenays

A BC cannabis company is getting into edibles.

Kootenay-based Sweetgrass Organic Cannabis announced on X it has two new gummies.

“The Lavender Lemon Balm flavour offer 10mg of CBN & are designed for nighttime use,” the company said.

“Our Elderberry Spruce 1:1:1 gummies are geared towards daytime use with 10mg of CBG.”

On the company website, Sweetgrass says: “In collaboration with Loosh Brands, these super tasty 10 x 10mg gummies unite our flagship cultivars – Mint Chocolate Chip and Crunch Berries – in a unique cured resin blend … These soft, sugar-coated gummies are free from artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.”

Double-blind trial for new pharmaceutical

Avicanna, a Canadian producer of cannabinoid pharmaceuticals, is putting one of its newly developed products into a clinical trial.

The trial will be conducted by Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. It will follow all the proper scientific procedures — a “randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, dose-finding clinical trial,” according to a news release.

It will test how Avicanna’s AVCN319301b THC capsules do at addressing anxiety and stress. Absorption is a big issue. “Typical cannabis formulations have poor absorption and variability of onset,” a news release explained.

Twenty-four people will take part in the study. “Participants will receive single oral doses of THC across separate study visits at 6 mg, 9 mg, and 15 mg, as well as placebo.”

The “proprietary capsules” are also enrolled in a trial for osteoarthritis at the University Health Network in Toronto.

CBSA seizes more than 1,000 kg of illicit pot

Border guards in the Greater Toronto area have seized more than 1,000 kilograms of illegal cannabis so far this year.

The cannabis was found in commercial shipments and in the luggage of individual travellers.

On Jan. 9, officers at Pearson airport seized 72 kg of cannabis from a passenger bound for the United Kingdom.

On Jan. 19, another UK-bound passenger was found transporting 61.5 kg of cannabis. A CBSA detector dog team discovered the stash.

On Feb. 12, officers in Mississauga, where Pearson airport is actually located, seized 224 kg of cannabis from a commercial shipment bound for Germany.

On Feb. 24, while examining packages at a UPS facility in Hamilton, officers seized seven kg of cannabis in a parcel bound for the Netherlands.

The cases were turned over to the RCMP.

In BC this month, CBSA officers seized more than 38 kg of suspected cannabis and 31 kg of suspected hashish at the Vancouver airport from two separate travellers going to Taiwan and Hong Kong. The people were arrested and turned over to the RCMP.

Meanwhile, a CBSA guard at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., has been charged with allowing a transport truck into the country that contained millions of dollars worth of opium, cannabis and tobacco. The truck driver was also arrested and charged. The incident happened in January. Initial court dates are set for March and April.

Moving cannabis across the border is punishable with imprisonment of up to five years under the Customs Act and up to 14 years under the Cannabis Act, the CBSA said.

In 2025, the CBSA seized over 46,608 kg of illegal cannabis.

Quick Hits

👂 Wait, what? Newsom declares that ‘cannabis is now legal’ after Trump mistakenly calls him ‘President Of The United States’ (Marijuana Moment)

🇨🇦 Heroes: What Canada owes its veterans — getting medical cannabis reimbursement right (National Newswatch)

💸 Excise tax: The easiest policy win in Ottawa might just be hiding in plain sight (LinkedIn)

Purple City seeds

Segra International will produce and distribute cannabis seeds and strains under a breeder partnership with Oakland, California’s Purple City Genetics.

“Purple City Genetics has earned recognition within the North American cultivation community for thoughtful breeding, careful selection practices, and a focus on modern hybrid development,” a Segra news release said.

Segra’s growers can benefit from access to Purple City’s knowledge, the release said, inviting growers to jump at the chance.

Richmond, BC-based Segra’s first release of Purple City cultivars will include Forbidden Blueprints, Futura Haze, G Runtz, Gush Mints 1:1, Lemon Sportif, Marmalade and The Bridge.

Exotic cannabis at a regular price

Exotic genetics at a price cannabis users can afford is the boast BC-based Pistol and Paris is making about a new brand called Bonkers.

“Over the years we saw a huge opportunity for exotic strains that still looked amazing and smoked well, but didn’t carry the premium craft price tag,” said Dylan King, CEO of Pistol and Paris, in a blog post. “Bonkers was created to bring that kind of product to everyday smokers.”

Bonkers, offered as flower and pre-rolls, will fall into the middle of pricing options, the company said.

“The goal isn’t to compete with premium cannabis. Instead, Bonkers fills the gap between high-end craft products and more affordable pricing. Even though Bonkers is positioned in the mid-value category, the standards behind the product remain strict,” the post said.

The company promises: “even burn, clean white ash, no constant relighting” and “vibrant colors, striking trichome coverage, and strong visual presence.”

“We wanted something that everyday smokers could reach for again and again,” said King.

Waterloo budtenders unionize

Budtenders at a Canna Cabana store in Waterloo, Ont., have unionized.

“This newly unionized group of cannabis retail workers came together to improve their workplace and address key issues, such as improving scheduling, achieving better compensation, and ensuring fair treatment on the job,” a news release posted on the UFCW’s international site said.

The workers will join UFCW locals 175 and 633. The combined locals represent cannabis workers in Hamilton, Ottawa, Innisfil, Toronto and more, the news release said.

“UFCW Local 175 provides workers with protection from arbitrary treatment and an official process to raise concerns through the grievance procedure without fear of retaliation,” said local president Kelly Tosato.

UFCW stands for United Food and Commercial Workers.

Cannabis Expo in Charlottetown

A one-day cannabis expo will take place April 11 in Charlottetown, PEI.

The event at Eastlink Centre will feature interactive exhibits, cannabis education, and non-infused product sampling.

A PEI Cannabis pop-up store will offer legal cannabis (including clones), beverages, ingestibles and accessories.

Tickets are available at all PEI Cannabis retail stores for $10 + HST, online for $15 + tax and fees at cannabiseast.ca, or at the door for $15 + taxes and fees.

Hot Knife your hash

If you thought the cannabis industry was trying to steer away from terminology like “hot knife” in an effort to appear more legitimate, you’d be wrong.

Hot Knife is new product being introduced by Los Angeles-based Puffco, along with its new and improved Proxy Core vapourizer,

“Proxy Core brings powerful vapor production and deep customization to a device small enough to fit in your pocket,” a news release proclaimed.

“Launching alongside it is the new Hot Knife, the latest evolution of Puffco’s widely-used heated loading tool, redesigned with a sturdier construction to make scooping and loading concentrates faster, cleaner, and easier.”

Of Proxy, the company proclaims: “By removing fragile glass components and introducing a durable new construction, the device is built to travel.”

Hot Knife is described as “the cleanest way to load your hash.”

It’s only available in the USA.