The Puff of Smoke Award

CannTrust Holdings Inc. execs may just have watched The Wizard of Oz one too many times. In the film, the wizard implores Dorothy and her motley crew to “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain,” but, of course, he was found out. Likewise, Health Canada, tipped off by a whistleblower, looked behind a few doors and discovered in July that CannTrust was growing illicit cannabis in multiple unlicensed rooms at its greenhouse in Pelham, Ont. As a result, the regulator in September cancelled CannTrust’s licence to produce and sell cannabis, and the company was forced to destroy about $12-million worth of plants and another $65-million worth of inventory. The company also fired its CEO and its chairman resigned. Its new management is now trying to regain full regulatory compliance.