RE:Just checking in
Athena, I can't possibly agree with you more about the Government's approach, tight control (and greed too) regarding the availability and distribution of cannabis related products.
In ignorance, this past couple of weeks I went to 3 health stores to obtain a small container of Hemp or marijuana CBD oil (preferably one of each), but what a surprise.... They only had plain Hemp oil, and while nice it is not what I needed (for 'experimental' purposes, less than a teaspoon of CBD oil would have been sufficient in my case to replace wheat germ oil). Oddly enough, none of the three stores said why they didn't carry it; they just said that they didn't have it. Even when I asked why not, the manager of one of the stores didn't say that they were not authorised to sell CBD, he instead humorously, looked at me with a dose of suspicion.
At any rate, prompted by this surprise, I combed the web for information regarding CBD's legal status. Despite the confusion, lack of concise clarity, vagueness, the grey areas and multiple interpretations, the following is what I got about CBD OIL in Canada and in USA too actually. Unless one has special licenses to buy CBD oil (be it derived from the Hemp plant or Marijuana) from legitimate and licensed producers and only at designated places, or else one has a doctor's prescription for it, one cannot buy CBD oil in Canada legally, i.e., it is not legal to be sold in Canada freely. Likewise, CBD is prohibited to be brought into Canada say in a scenario where one bought a little bottle of it from a store in USA (that can be available via the gray area) while visiting USA. There could be legitimate reasons for this, but the control over this inoffensive product is tight -- as in choking. Similarly, one has to have special licences to plant even a single Hemp plant.
Conclusion: And while the Cannabis legalization might be good for marijuana smokers and vapers in Canada, this great botanical's true usefulness is controlled, i.e., badly suppressed. In effect, under the current format of legalization, the Canada Cannabis Act has packed both the Hemp and the Marijuana together. In the Cannabis Act, there is no distinction between the Hemp and the Marijuana species/breeds. This is so, despite that the Hemp variety might have only traces of the THC component in its make up, and despite that both the Hemp derived and the Marijuana CBD oils are devoid of THC. No one is suggesting that people should have the liberty to plant the Marijuana plant liberally, but all considered and especially when it comes to the CBD oils the cannabis legalization resembles pseudolegalization (kind of). Of course, currently as it is, the Cannabis's legalization is better than not at all, one supposes, but it doesn't involve the areas where it counts the most. Eventually, it is the therapeutic, industrial and edible/drinkable aspects (the use of the CBD component being a major one) of the Cannabis plant that will flourish (explode) massively all through the Globe, I believe.
Let us hope that someone like Diageo (or a couple of them) is interested in Aphria. On average, I only loose at today's share price (under 10), but I can imagine how those feel that bought above 12 and held.