A cannabis gardener caught tending a crop of 203 plants worth up to £173,000 told a court that he has “had enough” of life in the UK.
Cristian Demiraj, 22, was arrested in June after a police raid. A prosecutor said “the entire house had been converted into a cannabis farm”.
However, Demiraj had only been working there two days and was forced into it in order to pay off debt. He has been given an eight-month sentence although he should be released in four.
Constellation Brands, the owner of Corona, is increasing its stake in Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth, investing US$4 billion to raise its share of the business from 9.9% to 38%.
The drinks giant said that the deal would position Canopy Growth as “the global leader in cannabis production, branding, intellectual property and retailing”.
Worth £1.3 billion when Constellation made its first investment in October 2017, Canopy Growth already has a presence in 11 countries and specialises in production innovation and clinical research. In April 2014, it became the first cannabis company in North America to be publicly traded.
Cannabis-infused wine is being readied for the market by the Rebel Coast Winery in the US, with the promise of preventing hangovers.
Unlike normal wine, the alcohol content is removed and replaced with 16mg of THC.
“After one glass you won’t be thinking your couch is a hippo with short legs or anything,” the company’s website says. “We set out to mimic the experience you’d find with traditional wine; a couple glasses will put most people in a great place.”
However, it will cost £47 to ship over from the US.
The ‘next big thing in cannabis’ is tourism, according to Forbes. The ‘Cannabis tourism’ industry has grown by 51% in Colorado since 2014. 6.5 million tourists logged nearly 18 million cannabis-use days in the state in 2016, The state has racked up more than $5.2 billion in marijuana sales since it legalised cannabis in January 2014.
In California, ‘weed and wine’ tours are increasingly popular. In San Francisco, Ganja Goddess Getaway is a wellness retreat designed for women who love cannabis, as well as those who want a safe space to try it for the first time, where cannabis can be tried in every form imaginable, including smoothies, body creams and vapes.
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