Canada makes Marijuana legal

Agencies
October 18, 2018

Montreal, Oct 18: When Canada legalizes recreational pot on Wednesday, market watchers predict the birth of a new industry -- creating thousands of jobs, investor euphoria, a new tax source for governments and maybe even tourism.

Hundreds of licensed growers have sprouted in anticipation of the end of pot prohibition, attracting major investment.

In just the past year, the market capitalization of firms including Canopy Growth and Tilray has increased fivefold, to a total of more than US$10 billion on the New York stock market.

And with significant know-how gained since Canada's legalization of medical marijuana in 2001, others including Aurora and Aphria are making inroads abroad as more and more foreign markets allow therapeutic cannabis use and research.

Beverage makers and pharmaceutical companies are also partnering in the sector, hoping to develop new products infused with THC or cannabidiol (CBD).

Constellation Brands, the North American distributor of Corona beer and Robert Mondavi wine, recently invested about Can$5 billion ($3.8 billion US) in Canopy Growth for a 38 per cent stake in the company.

And soft drinks giant Coca-Cola is looking into using CBD, the non-psychoactive molecule in cannabis believed to provide health benefits, as an ingredient in some drinks.

Experts like John-Kurt Pliniussen, a marketing professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, are also predicting a bump in tourism worth several billion dollars, citing as examples Amsterdam and a handful of US states where pot is legal.

"The same can happen in Canada, because one of the things we have going for us and that no other country in the world has, is the name of our country -- it is almost spelt very similar to cannabis," Pliniussen told AFP.

"And so you could have Canatourism -- from a marketing point of view, it lends itself very well."

In the meantime, an investor frenzy is fueling mergers and acquisitions, with 48 deals worth a total of Can$5.2 billion announced in the first six months of this year alone, according to Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC).

The consolidation will continue after legalization, says PwC, as an "expected oversupply takes its toll and forces undercapitalized players into bankruptcy" and firms "look to fuel further growth by tapping emerging foreign medical markets."

There are untold economic spinoffs to be had, for sure.

Tokyo Smoke -- a reinvention of the classic coffee shop -- promotes cannabis lifestyle, selling pipes, infusers and other pot paraphernalia along with shots of espresso (but not cannabis itself).

The three-year-old company was purchased for Can$500 million last month by Canopy Growth and plans to expand nationwide from five locations in Toronto.

"I think Canada will become a world leader in cannabis -- it's exciting and something we can be proud of," Tokyo Smoke vice president Josh Lyon told AFP.

"Legalization will open the doors to a dynamic, sophisticated industry that will create new jobs, new opportunities for businesses, and new revenues for the government," echoed Deloitte in a report.

Nearly five million Canadians or 16 per cent of the population consumed 773 tonnes of cannabis in 2017, mostly for recreation, paying an estimated Can$5.5 billion to buy bud, according to the government statistics agency.

The number of consumers is expected to increase slightly after legalization, but spending is predicted to remain the same, Statistics Canada said in a recent report.

Further growth is expected from derivative products like edibles, cosmetics and e-cigarette products containing the pot, which will be allowed starting in 2019.

But there is disagreement among forecasters on just how much of a boost the new industry could give Canada's economy.

According to the TD Bank, cannabis will push up economic growth 0.9 percentage points in the fourth quarter to hit 2.9 per cent.

But the government statistics agency expects the new cannabis industry to have at best a "minimal impact" on growth in Canada.

And according to Benoit Durocher, a senior economist with Desjardins Bank in Montreal, it will be a drop in the bucket for this G7 nation's massive and highly diversified economy.

"Given the small size (of the sector) relative to overall GDP (which is close to Can$2 trillion), the impact on growth will be very small or no impact at all," Durocher said.

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Agencies
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: Witnessing azure skies and breathable air for the last three months, Delhi on Monday recorded deterioration in its air quality, with particulate matter with diameter of 2.5 and 10 microns -- too small to be filtered out of the human body -- standing at 52 and 297 micrograms per cubic respectively.

Gufran Beig, Project Director of System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), said that the sudden spike in air pollution is due to a mild dust storm blowing from Rajasthan.

"Since the wind direction is changing and moist air is coming in, the air quality in Delhi will become better by tomorrow," Beig told IANS.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed that the overall air quality near Delhi Technical University (DTU) area stood at 326 micrograms per cubic, followed by 308 at Narela and 307 at Mundka.

Out of 36 stations, the AQI in as many as 30 stations was above 200 micrograms per cubic till 1 pm on Monday.

The System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research categorises air quality in the 0-50 range as good, 51-100 as satisfactory, 101-200 as moderate, 201-300 as poor, 301-400 as very poor, and above 400 as severe.

According to SAFAR's website, "PM 10 (coarser dust particle) is the lead pollutant. AQI is likely to improve to moderate category by tomorrow, and further improvement is expected by July 1."

Researchers indicated that PM 10 and PM 2.5 will be 170 and 47 micrograms per cubic on Tuesday.

With no vehicles plying on the roads or industries shut due to the lockdown since March 25, Delhi's air quality had improved drastically.

According to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, if the low levels of air pollution reached during the lockdown period are maintained, India's annual death toll could reduce by 6.5 lakh.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

New Delhi, Jun 7: The Government of India (GoI) must strengthen the laws to protect animals, said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India CEO Dr Manilal Valliyate on Sunday, following an elephant's death in Kerala and cow injured due to ingestion of explosives in Himachal Pradesh.

"Such incidents are not just restricted to certain regions but are happening all across the country. PETA receives more than 100 similar cases every day. People send in their complaints to us, not just for cows and elephants but for so many other animals as well," he said.

The PETA chief urged the GoI to strengthen the laws established to protect animals.

"As per the current laws set out against animal cruelty, the perpetrator would only be charged Rs 50,000 as a fine. That is equivalent to no punishment at all," added PETA India CEO.

He expressed his anguish against municipal agencies as well, saying that they are not doing "serious" work. He also highlighted how cows are left on the roads to wander, after milking them, to feed on garbage, in several parts of the country.

"These injustices against animals through explosives has been going on for quite a while. But for the first time, it has received such public attention," he said.

After a pregnant elephant was fed cracker-filled pineapple and her eventual death on May 27 in Kerala's Palakkad district, a pregnant cow sustained fatal injuries on May 25 due to accidental ingestion of explosives in Dadh village of Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh.

One person has been arrested in the Dadh village for allegedly hurting the cow.

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Agencies
May 27,2020

Due to impacts of COVID-19, shipments of total mobile phones are forecast to decline 14.6% in 2020, while smartphone shipments will achieve a slightly slower decline of 13.7 % year over year to total 1.3 billion units this year, according to a Gartner forecast on Tuesday.

"While users have increased the use of their mobile phones to communicate with colleagues, work partners, friends and families during lockdowns, reduced disposable income will result in fewer consumers upgrading their phones," Ranjit Atwal, Senior Research Director at Gartner, said in a statement.

"As a result, phone lifetimes will extend from 2.5 years in 2018 to 2.7 years in 2020," said Atwal.

In 2020, affordable 5G phones were expected to be the catalyst to increase phone replacements, but now it is unlikely to be the case.

5G phones are now forecast to represent only 11% of total mobile phone shipments in 2020.

"The delayed delivery of some 5G flagship phones is an ongoing issue," said Annette Zimmermann, Research Vice President at Gartner.

"Moreover, the lack of 5G geographical coverage along with the increasing cost of the 5G phone contract will impact the choice of a 5G phone."

Overall, spending on 5G phones will be impacted in most regions apart from China, where continued investment in 5G infrastructure is expected, allowing providers in China to effectively market 5G phones.

The combined global shipments PCs, tablets and mobile phones are on pace to decline 13.6% in 2020, according to the forecast.

PC shipments are expected to decline 10.5% this year. Shipments of notebooks, tablets and Chromebooks are forecast to decline slower than the PC market overall in 2020.

"The forecasted decline in the PC market in particular could have been much worse," said Atwal.

"However, government lockdowns due to COVID-19 forced businesses and schools to enable millions of people to work from home and increase spending on new notebooks, Chromebooks and tablets for those workers. Education and government establishments also increased spending on those devices to facilitate e-learning."

Gartner said that 48 per cent of employees will likely work remotely at least part of the time after the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to 30 % pre-pandemic.

Overall, the work from home trend will make IT departments shift to more notebooks, tablets and Chrome devices for work.

"This trend combined with businesses required to create flexible business continuity plans will make business notebooks displace desk based PCs through 2021 and 2022," said Atwal.

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