OCS Data Leak Confirmed, OPP Investigation Launched

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are investigating what the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) is calling theft of sensitive business data pertaining to sales information for every cannabis store in Ontario, reports MJBizDaily.

The Breakdown

• Reports of the leak first circulated online from cannabis retailers in Ontario starting in April, with the OCS confirming the breach in an email to retailers sent out on May 10.
• The data leak included sales information such as number of kilograms sold per day, total inventory at the start of the month, as well as ownership details of the stores.
• The OCS stated that this was not a failure of their IT systems or security, but rather the data has been “misappropriated”.

Our Perspective

This is another major blow for the Ontario provincial distributor that is already facing a high amount of scrutiny and sector that is already struggling. As the article points out, this data leak could provide an unfair competitive advantage to retailers that are now privy to this information and looking to use it to their advantage. This type of sales data is not something that is typically disclosed, and cannabis retailers are already struggling to stay afloat. Furthermore, it brings into question whether this is a breach of the OCS retailer agreement or not and what the repercussions should be when the organization responsible for keeping this data safe ultimately fails to meet that obligation.

Update on the Legalization Timeline in Germany

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced that technical discussions will begin this summer and a draft bill is expected to follow in late 2022, per Forbes.

The Breakdown

• Cannabis legalization has not necessarily been a priority for the German Federal Government since it was announced in November 2021, with other issues taking precedent such as the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine.
• Since Germany legalized medical cannabis in 2017, it has become the largest medical cannabis market in Europe, but market growth has been slow as of late.

Our Perspective

The legalization of cannabis is never a quick process but it’s exciting to see that Germany is starting to move forward. Although there’s a good chance it will face some delays, Germany will likely position itself as the leader in the recreational cannabis industry in Europe considering how far other European countries are on the path to legalization. With that said, only time will tell whether Germany is able to avoid some of the pitfalls other countries have faced in their legalization efforts such as large public companies dominating the market, stockpiles of low-quality cannabis that exceed actual demand and a disjointed retail distribution system.

Successful Cannabis Container Recycling Program in Edmonton

An Edmonton-based startup [Re] Waste has become a lucrative business founder Corey Saban, crediting cannabis consumers as the driving force, reports Global News.

The Breakdown

• Most cannabis packaging cannot be recycled in the blue bag, like many plastic items.
• City recycling programs will not spend the time or resources to sort contaminated or inconsistent plastics to sell to a market with no buyer.
• [Re] Waste sorts, processes, and then manufactures 100% of the recycled cannabis plastics into new product like plastic bins, shelving units, concrete and more.
• [Re] Waste has diverted 100,000 containers from landfills, which is traditionally the cheaper option.

Our Perspective

It is always great to see a positive news story come out of the cannabis industry, particularly one that directly addresses the large amounts of waste that the cannabis industry produces. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) has become a prominent topic in the cannabis industry as of late and this is a prime example of a company that is having a positive impact on the environment, while also being profitable, proving that they should not be considered mutually exclusive.