Canada: Major Medical Marijuana Company Lays Off 61 Employees

[Jacob Redmond]

One of Vancouver Island's largest medical marijuana companies announced Thursday it is laying off 61 employees.

Tilray, based in Nanaimo, says the cuts were done to "more effectively serve patients."

Tilray opened it's doors in 2014 and at its peak employed nearly 200 people.

It's quite a change for the company that made its name as a major employer in the region. The company held numerous job fairs last year and in January hosted an information session in an effort to fill even more jobs.

A report released in March by the Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation found Tilray generated more than $48 million last year and fostered 395 jobs during the construction and operation phase.

Ted Smith, founder of the Cannabis Buyers' Clubs in Victoria, wasn't surprised by the announcement.

"A number of companies that have been authorized by Health Canada have been very aggressive and I believe overestimated the profits that they'll be able to make off patients in this short amount of time," said Smith.

"Ì think we'd be doing a lot better by having dozens of smaller companies than having one large company controlling the market."

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Full Article: Tilray medical marijuana company lays off 61 in Nanaimo - British Columbia - CBC News
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[Greeley]

I'd be crushed if a company reached out and set up a job fair, helped me get into their company and then lay me off of my dream job.

Ouch.

 

[Radogast]

I suspect they underestimated how much Vancouver does not want to turn over Marijuana growing and sales to the corporations.

If you are one of the 61 who thought this was your dream job, it stinks.
If you are one of the tens of thousands who support small cannabis based businesses, it smells like a victory.

 

[J189RFC]

These people are now free to lend their very well developed services to actually help people instead of just slaving away in this giant health canada corporate machine.

 

[Greeley]

I agree with you both. I hope to work in the industry, when I read this I imagine myself getting laid off by some company once I've finally gotten in. In respect to small cannabis based businesses, I hope to run my own one day, and would rather have a fighting chance to serve real help instead of being crushed under the behemoth companies who only care about the dollar.

 

[Radogast]

i'm not against corporations having a place in cannabis production. In terms of "regulate marijuana like alcohol", corporations get to be the Budweiser and Schlitz, citizens and entrepreneurs get to be the Smuttynose and the neighbor's home brew. Tilray was trying to be Coors, puffed up by government prohibition. I want to see the marijuana equivalent of Guinness - a company who had to start out in the pubs and work their way up by competing in quality, quantity, and price.

Thanks to the 2016 California marijuiana initiatives supporters for the analogy of small growers to craft-beer producers. I hope they assemble a good law.

 

[J189RFC]

Rad, it's way different in Canada. We have a corrupt health minister who goes on record as saying that cannabis isint a medicine, refuses to accept that people are ailing, gets enraged at the supreme court the single highest law in Canada, and then gives all the good cannabis jobs to her big wig friends. You can't get a production license in Canada unless you have oh at least 10 million to spend and have absolutely zero relations with cannabis previous. We have a broken system and it will only be fixed by dismantling the handful of giant corporate producers.

We only wish we could have a USA style cannabis system.

 

[Radogast]

Rad, it's way different in Canada. We have a corrupt health minister who goes on record as saying that cannabis isint a medicine, refuses to accept that people are ailing, gets enraged at the supreme court the single highest law in Canada, and then gives all the good cannabis jobs to her big wig friends. You can't get a production license in Canada unless you have oh at least 10 million to spend and have absolutely zero relations with cannabis previous. We have a broken system and it will only be fixed by dismantling the handful of giant corporate producers.

We only wish we could have a USA style cannabis system.

That is a USA style system! Canada just did a better job at organized corruption - this time.

Just recently in Massachusetts we have a governor who says cannabis isn't medicine. Yet two weeks ago when the first dispensary set to open said 95% of thier crop could not meet the (very stringent) lead limits, the new Republican governor authorized a temporary waiver so they would not have to test their product before selling.

So the first Massachussetts dispensary gets to sell sub-standard produce while over a dozen dispensaries are waiting on the health department for permission to put seeds in the ground - not doing anything to prepare - just sitting and waiting in buildings they purchased / leased years over a year ago, built out with security systems, written protocols, etc and have been sitting and waiting for approval to start production.

Part of the delay is dealing with the corruption of approving a group cofounded by a state senator for multiple location permits while dozens were denied.. So at least there is some fight back against corruption.

Ohio, on the other hand, it taking the Health Canada approach. A cartel known as ResponsibleOhio is attempting to codify into law that the only group that can grow and sell cannabis is ResponsibleOhio. Their ballot initiative says, give us the cannabis market or it stays unlawful.

I am grateful that the laws are being fought at a state by state level, rather than a national level. I was hoping to see the same thing in Western Canada fighting off the national government.

 

[J189RFC]

It's not right. Not even a little. Double standards, conflicts of interest and just general shady business. No better than gangs. Worse even I think sometimes, cause at least gangs don't have the power to write or enforce law...