News

Quick Hits: Cannabis news in brief

Published on May 8, 2026 by Pat Bulmer

Photo: Contributed

Cannabis news in brief: Mom wants ‘flowers’; Tweed’s new slogan; Akanda can’t make quorum; Aurora expands international offerings; Culture Cannabis Canada busted; New location for NextLeaf; Pre-rolls outsell flower; Another marketing agency launches; Ontario stores open earlier; Glow on more shelves

Take Your Mom to the Dispensary Day

The second Saturday in May is “Take Your Mom to the Dispensary Day.”

“TeaPot is enlisting its loyal drinkers to thank the moms in their lives by shepherding them to their local dispensary for a can of non-carbonated, great-tasting, cannabis infused iced tea,” The Boston Beer Company’s Canadian subsidiary (BBCCC) declared in a news release.

The company advises people to take the following steps:

“1. Pick the mother in your life: mom, grandma, wife, aunt, mother-in-law, stepmom, mom-friend, dog mom, etc.

“2. Block off the Saturday before Mother’s Day, this year it’s May 9th

“3. Visit drinkteapot.com and locate the nearest of over 2,000 TeaPot retailers across Canada

“4. On Saturday, bring mom to the dispensary and help her choose the style of TeaPot right for her

“5. Celebrate Mother’s Day weekend responsibly and make new memories together!”

TeaPot is launching a new raspberry black tea dubbed TeaPot Extra that’s “made with real black tea and infused with 10mg of Live Rosin THC and 10mg of CBG — ‘the mother of all cannabinoids.’ TeaPot Extra also contains 30mg of naturally occurring tea-sourced caffeine,” the company said.

There’s a Tweed for that

Canopy Growth says it is refreshing its Tweed brand with new flower strains, pre-rolls and packaging.

A new campaign — “There’s a Tweed for That” — will launch over the Victoria Day long weekend with three new flower products — Tropical Gelato Slushie (hybrid), Citrus Candy Cake  (indica) and GMO Jet Fuel (sativa) — and also highlighting Tweed’s Quickie pre-roll.

A new milled flower is slated to join the lineup in the summer.

“Tweed has been rebuilt around what consumers and budtenders told us they wanted. We’ve improved potency, sharpened pricing, and introduced window bags,” said CEO Luc Mongeau in a news release.

No quorum for Akanda meeting

Akanda Corp.’s second attempt to hold a special shareholders meeting failed.

The company scheduled the meeting for April 27 in Toronto, but couldn’t raise a quorum.

The meeting had originally been set for March 31, but there wasn’t a sufficient turnout then, either.

“A quorum … requires the presence, in person or by proxy, of at least two shareholders holding not less than 10% of the company’s outstanding shares entitled to vote,” the company has explained.

Akanda will try again on May 25.

“Akanda Corp., through its cannabis subsidiaries with operations in Canada, is dedicated to cultivating and distributing high-quality cannabis and wellness products,” the company explains in its news releases.

Akanda announced last year it was working to convert a hemp cultivation licence in BC to a full cannabis licence.

New offerings from Aurora

Aurora Cannabis is expanding its global medical cannabis portfolio, with new product launches rolling out across Canada, Europe and Australia.

The expanded lineup includes dried flower, pre-rolls and pastilles (softgels).

Germany is getting new flower strains.

Poland is getting more potent flower.

Australia is getting softgels.

Canada is getting new flower and pre-rolls.

Edmonton-based Aurora is focusing on medical cannabis now with such brands as MedReleaf, IndiMed, San Raf, Tasty’s and Whistler Medical Marijuana Co.

Pot network busted

A website called Culture Cannabis Canada was the centre of a cross-country network shipping large amounts of illegal cannabis and psilocybin, authorities say.

Investigators with the RCMP, Canada Post, Canada Border Services Agency and financial agency FINTRAC shut down the operation after a two-month investigation.

On March 10, the RCMP executed search warrants at two Ottawa residences. Investigators seized 485 kilograms of dried cannabis, 36 kg of hash, 18 kg of psilocybin and over 7,000 cannabis-infused edibles, cannabis-infused vapes and unstamped tobacco with a total approximate street value of over $5.5 million. RCMP officers also seized $115,360 in cash and a vehicle.

The investigation began when police received information from Canada Post that a parcel destined for the Northwest Territories contained a large quantity of cannabis and cannabis byproducts.

Three men were arrested and face a raft of charges. They were scheduled to appear in court next on May 5.

Meanwhile, border officers in the Toronto region seized more than 140 kg of cannabis that was hidden in commercial shipments destined for Germany, the CBSA announced on X.

And York Regional Police recovered $2 million in stolen cannabis products along with two illegal firearms in Mississauga. A trailer full of the items, which were destined for numerous dispensaries, was stolen from the Niagara area. Five people were arrested on April 15 and will face charges.

Nextleaf gets licence for second site

BC’s Nextleaf Solutions has received a Health Canada micro-processing licence for its second location in Coquitlam.

The 2,500 square-foot facility, located near the company’s primary site, is expected to support packaging, distribution and select manufacturing functions, the company said.

“A micro-processing licence allows you to produce all types of cannabis, other than by synthesizing, cultivating, propagating or harvesting it. You can possess up to 2,400 kg of dried cannabis (or its equivalent amount) in a calendar year,” Health Canada explains on its website.

“The additional licensed space allows us to streamline aspects of fulfilment and distribution and supports greater agility,” Vipin Vikraman, VP of operations, said in a news release

With the increased processing, the company expects to be able to respond more quickly to consumer changes and “support international brand expansion without compromising on domestic fulfilment,” the release said.

Nextleaf is best known for its Glacial Gold brand of softgels, oils, vapes and pre-rolls.

The company also announced it will offer 166,667 common shares to employees at a price of six cents per share.

Americans like pre-rolls

Pre-rolls are now outselling flower in the United States, a new report says.

The State of the Pre-Roll Market 2026 was put together by Custom Cones USA, which makes everything a company needs to produce and package pre-rolls.

“Drawing on 2025 sales data … the report shows the category generated $3.6 billion in revenue and sold more than 383 million units, achieving a 15.9% market share and the strongest growth of any major cannabis category,” Custom Cones said in a news release.

“Pre-roll revenue grew 9.8% year-over-year, while unit sales surged 18.6%, far outpacing the broader cannabis market, which expanded just 1.5% over the same period,” the release said.

“Pre-rolls are no longer an afterthought,” said Harrison Bard, CEO of Custom Cones USA.

Multi-packs represent 48.5% of all products sold. “The leading configuration, a 2.5g five-pack alone generated more than $600 million in revenue. However, the 1-gram single pre-roll still remains the top individual product format, raking in $1.44 billion in 2025.”

The market is maturing, however, with 3,200 brands and it’s getting tougher for new entrants to find a space, the report said.

In September, Custom Cones reported pre-rolls had passed flower as the top-grossing cannabis category in Canada.

Marketing agency launches

A new creative and marketing agency for the cannabis industry has launched in Vancouver and Toronto.

Colin Bambury and Jeremy Bouvet, described as longtime cannabis industry marketers and creatives, launched grnroom along with Spensir Sangara, “an industry mogul and founder of THC Canada, one of Vancouver’s earliest municipally licensed cannabis dispensaries.”

According to a news release, “grnroom provides end-to-end support for cannabis companies, helping brands move from concept to consumer through services including brand development, product launches, social media management, email marketing, SEO, website development, retail marketing assets, experiential events, PR, and campaign execution.

“Companies interested in working with the agency can contact [email protected].”

Earlier openings allowed for Ontario cannabis stores

Ontario is now allowing cannabis stores to open at 7 a.m.

The move was proposed a while ago, but public input was sought before proceeding.

Closing time is still 11 p.m.

Curbside pickup can also begin at 7 a.m., but deliveries can’t start until 9 a.m., Ontario’s regulator says.

Stores don’t have to open that early.

In BC, cannabis stores are allowed to open at 9 a.m. and must close by 11 p.m. Alberta allows stores to open from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., although municipalities may put in their own limits. In Quebec, government-run stores generally open at 10 a.m. They can stay open until 10 p.m., although only a handful do.

More cannabis stores are Glowing

Glow Lifetech says its efforts to claim more shelf space at Canadian cannabis stores are working.

The company’s MOD-brand CBD drops will be available through two of Canada’s largest retailers, Glow said. It didn’t name the retailers in a news release, but said the products will soon be available in 140 stores in Ontario.

Glow has secured two new product listings in Ontario: the CBD drops, launching in May; and decimal-brand live resin 10mg THC-capsules — 50 to a bottle, launching in July.

Glow has been gradually expanding its presence nationwide.