Kelowna cannabis grower suing Shuswap weed firm, alleges it's owed $250K

FILE PHOTO.
FILE PHOTO.
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A Kelowna cannabis growing company is suing a Shuswap marijuana processor alleging that it hasn't paid for roughly $250,000 of weed.

In a Notice of Claim filed at the Vernon courthouse Aug. 10, Kelowna cannabis grower Okanna Craft alleges Salmon Arm firm Joint Venture Craft Cannabis failed to pay it for 76,000 grams of cannabis.

The court documents say the two companies had a contract in 2021 that Okanna Craft would supply Joint Venture Craft Cannabis with marijuana that it would then process and sell to wholesalers and retailers.

The contract stated Okanna Craft would supply cannabis flower with "at least 21% tetrahydrocannabinol" and 2% terpenes and each piece would be "no smaller" than 23.88 millimetres, around the same size as a quarter.

The price was negotiated at $3.41 a gram.

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The Notice of Claim states the Kelowna grower delivered roughly 167,000 grams of cannabis to the Shuswap processor in about a dozen shipments.

Okanna Craft alleges it hasn't been paid for 76,000 grams and Joint Venture Craft Cannabis has still not sold 65,000 grams.

The court documents say the two cannabis companies had an agreement whereby the processor would pay Okanna Craft upon delivery and then again when the product was sold to a retail customer, and another process if it was sold to a wholesaler.

The Notice of Claim states the "actual transfer" of money would happen when the processor sold the product to a retailer.

The court documents go on to say "in practice" a different process was followed than in the contract.

The cannabis grower says Joint Venture Craft Cannabis also charged processing and marketing expenses.

"Okanna Craft has therefore received payment in amounts which are less than what should have been paid to Okanna Craft," the court documents read.

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The cannabis grower goes on to allege that Joint Venture Craft Cannabis failed to process the cannabis properly and then failed to sell it.

The agreement lasted a year and the two parties didn't continue the contract when it expired in August 2022.

Okanna Craft is suing for general damages and breach of contract.

Joint Venture Craft Cannabis have not yet filed a statement of defence.

Neither party responded to iNFOnews.ca's request for comment.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.


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