Sergio Rocha, executive director of a cannabis cultivation research project, works in a greenhouse at Brazil’s Federal University of Vicosa on Aug. 18, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Washington Alves)

Cannabis firms catch whiff of opportunity in Brazil

Canadian producers among those now supplying Brazilian market

Sao Paulo | Reuters — International cannabis companies are showing interest in Brazil, both its large consumer market for medicinal products and a proposal that could legalize planting of the crop. Major producers such as Colombia’s Clever Leaves and Canada’s Canopy Growth are developing and selling medicinal cannabis products to a Brazilian consumer segment estimated […] Read more

Signage on a Tweed retail outlet in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Canopy Growth to close Saskatchewan pot plant

Ontario company stepping out of other international plays

A major indoor cannabis grow site at Yorkton, Sask. is the latest casualty as pot producer/retailer Canopy Growth adjusts its worldwide footprint. Smiths Falls, Ont.-based Canopy Growth, whose cannabis brands include Tweed, Tokyo Smoke, Van der Pop and Spectrum Therapeutics, announced Thursday it will shut down its Tweed Grasslands production facility at Yorkton to “further […] Read more


Cartagena’s colonial walled section and fortress are a UNESCO World Heritage site in Colombia. (CIA.gov)

Colombia cleared of foot-and-mouth

Country now aims to double meat exports

Bogota | Reuters — Colombia will look to double its meat exports now it has regained its status as a country free of foot-and-mouth disease, President Ivan Duque said on Thursday. Foot-and-mouth is a highly contagious viral disease found in animals and is one of the most serious to affect livestock, including cattle, sheep and […] Read more







Cartagena’s colonial walled section and fortress are a UNESCO World Heritage site in Colombia. (CIA.gov)

Colombia, rebels plan joint drug crop eradication

Havana | Reuters –– Colombia’s government and leftist FARC rebels agreed on Friday to a pilot project to replace illicit crops, mainly coca, as part of negotiations aimed at ending Latin America’s last and longest guerilla war, which is fueled in part by drug profits. Colombia is one of the world’s biggest producers of cocaine, […] Read more


Cocaine. (DEA.gov)

Colombia calls off aerial coca spraying

Bogota | Reuters –– Colombia will suspend aerial fumigation of illegal coca plants in light of a number of studies linking the herbicide involved to cancer, a move that marks the end of a decades-long strategy in the country’s fight against drug trafficking. Spraying coca leaves, which are used to make cocaine, has been a […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Colombia clears paper trail for more Canadian wheat

“Continuous engagement” has led to a lighter regulatory load on Canadian wheat bound for Colombia, already Canada’s seventh-biggest wheat export market. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and trade group Cereals Canada on Tuesday announced Colombia has eased phytosanitary import rules for Canadian wheat, “effectively putting Canada on a level playing field with other exporting countries.” Colombia’s […] Read more