The collective simplifies the distribution process for local producers, thereby “making it easier to share their expertise with Quebec’s consumer market,” according to ROSE.

ROSE does its part by working directly with the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) — which has a legislated monopoly on recreational weed sales in the province and is currently the exclusive retailer for ROSE products and brands — to advance those efforts.

In Quebec, only companies or persons with a cultivation permit issued by Health Canada can legally grow cannabis, either indoors or outdoors, notes information from the SQDC. A micro-cultivator can have a facility of 200 square metres or 2,150 square feet.

The newly available products were developed by Abitibi, Que.-based mindiCANNA, the first cannabis micro-producer to emerge in Quebec. / PHOTO BY VICTORIABEE / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS

Developed by Abitibi, Que.-based mindiCANNA, the first cannabis micro-producer to emerge in Quebec, Amos craft cannabis products are the first offerings under the DLYS moniker to hit SQDC shelves. The products — like those that will follow — are all local.

Keeping things local is a central goal of ROSE, whose new initiative will help to bring these new products to market in La Belle Province.

“Consumers deserve to have access to the great work local producers are doing here. Now they can,” Davide Zaffino, ROSE’s president and chief financial officer, says in the statement.

MindiCANNA takes “advantage of some of the world’s best water and growing soil to elevate the development of their plants,” the statement points out. “We know how to grow cannabis here, in optimal ways,” adds mindiCANNA co-founder Daniel Lessard.

Aphria Inc. is also trying to optimize not only its own potential, but to home in on consumer wants with its entry into the topicals space.

This week, the Leamington, Ont.-based company issued what it touts as the highest potency topical available in the Canadian market. Under its adult-use brand, Solei, the topicals include Unplug (lavender),Balance (orange citrus), Free (cucumber Mint) and Free Unscented, reports Aphria, a global cannabis-lifestyle consumer packaged goods company.

Ontario-based Aphria has issued what it touts as the highest potency topical available in the Canadian market. / PHOTO BY SOLEI TOPICALS (CNW GROUP/APHRIA INC.)

The topicals’ scents have been selected to match consumer wants and are rich to the touch, Aphria reports. Free and Free Unscented includes 500 milligrams of CBD per container, Balance contains 250 mg of each THC and CBD, and Unplug contains 350 mg of THC and 150 mg of CBD.

U.S.-based Grandview Research estimated that the global CBD skincare market size was worth US$234.1 million in 2018 and it was expected to expand significantly between 2019 and 2025. “The market is majorly driven by growing awareness with respect to the benefits of CBD-infused personal care products.” the research company noted in 2019.

“Topicals are one, if not the most, accessible cannabis format available today, making it appealing to a large segment of consumers,” Irwin D. Simon, chairman and CEO of Aphria, says in the company statement. “We are listening to the needs of our consumers.”

Unplug and Balance are now available online and in select retail stores across Ontario, while Free and Free Unscented will be available next month.

Things are also happening on the medical cannabis side, focusing on the needs of patients. Canada House Wellness Group is looking to extend a helping hand to those who have served, announcing that its subsidiary Abba Medix Corp. has launched Veterans Kush, a cultivar that was seven years in development and designed specifically for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

FILE: The Pipes and Drums of the Edmonton Transit Service perform during 700 Wing Royal Canadian Air Force Association’s Robbie Burns Day celebrations held at CapitalCare Kipnes Centre for Veterans in Edmonton, on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. / PHOTO BY IAN KUCERAK/POSTMEDIA

Veterans Affairs Canada reports that as much as 10 per cent of war zone veterans will experience PTSD, “while others may experience at least some of the symptoms associated with this condition.”

In 2013, Statistics Canada reports, about one in six full-time regular force members of the Canadian Armed Forces reported symptoms of at least one of the following disorders: major depressive episode, panic disorder, PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder and alcohol abuse or dependence.

Released under Abba’s partnership with InPlanta Biotechnology and available exclusively to registered Abba patients, the new cultivar “is a hybrid of B.C. Rockstar and Master Kush backcrossed to Rockstar to achieve the cannabinoid and terpene profiles that veterans have reported having success with,” notes a joint statement from Canada House Wellness and InPlanta Biotechnology.

“As a veteran with combat-related PTSD and chronic pain, I am very excited about this veteran-specific strain,” Glen Coyle, veteran advocate for Abba and Canada House Clinics, says in the statement. “This is the only strain that I have tried that gave me all the relief I needed,” Coyle says.

In a study released in 2016 by medical cannabis producer MedReleaf, researchers found that using cannabis to treat veterans with PTSD “improved aggregate patient reported outcomes by 50 to 60 per cent, with a 77 per cent decrease in suicidal thoughts as well as a 50 per cent reduction in the consumption of related medications.”