Cannabis has been illegal at a federal level in the US since 1970, when the Controlled Substances Act was passed by the Congress. Things started to change in 1996, when California became the first state to legalize medicinal use of marijuana. Since then it has been a long and treacherous road, but most states (35 to be more exact) have legalized the medical use of cannabis. In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational use of cannabis and some other states follow suit. Currently, 15 states legalized the recreational use of cannabis and in 16 other states the consumption for recreational purposes is de-criminalized, and more reforms in this area are expected in the nearest future.

According to the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, Canada’s hemp acreage and export value are both up more than 20% this year.

“The Canadian hemp industry continues to grow in 2020 despite the challenges posed by COVID-19,” CHTA board chairman Keith Jones said in a statement after the group’s annual meeting, held online this year. “Canada seeded some 92,000 hemp acres in 2019, with exports exceeding $110 million Canadian dollars ($85 million).”

The United Nations has voted to remove cannabis from its classification as a dangerous drug. This week the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from a category of the world’s most dangerous drugs. This decision could potentially jumpstart the global medical marijuana industry. Many cannabis companies have eyed global expansion, but the markets have proven to be challenging as laws have remained strict.

This marks the first time in four years that Green Wednesday has beat out Black Friday, which saw a 75% increase in sales.

Data from both Akerna (Nasdaq: KERN) and Headset agreed that Green Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) sales in 2020 easily beat Black Friday sales for the first time. Cannabis consumers clearly wanted to make their purchases in advance of Thanksgiving and were less inclined to go shopping afterward.

Read entire article at Technical 420

Based on pre-market trading, Canadian cannabis stocks look poised for a strong pullback this morning. The move lower follows a period of strength for Canadian Licensed Producers (LPs).

VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 4, 2020 /CNW/ - Village Farms International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: VFF) (TSX: VFF) today announced that DutchCanGrow Inc. ("DCG"), a Netherlands-based cannabis enterprise in which Village Farms holds just under a 16% ownership stake, as the outcome of a lottery process, did not receive one of the ten cannabis production licenses (the "License") under the Dutch government's 10-city Experiment to Investigate Closed Cannabis Supply Chains (known by its Dutch language acronym "WECG").

Sundial Growers Inc. SNDL, -7.45% has filed a shelf registration to issue up to $200 million in securities. The Canadian cannabis company said it has also filed a preliminary prospectus supplement for a new at-the-market equity program for up to $150 million of its common shares.

Proceeds will be used to pay down debt, to finance possible acquisitions or invest in equipment, facilities and for general corporate purposes. U.S.-listed shares of Sundial, which once had a $1 billion valuation, were down 16% premarket at 64 cents. The stock has fallen 74% in 2020 to date, while the Cannabis ETF THCX, 0.51% has gained 9% and the S&P 500 SPX, 0.65% has gained 13%.

Now more than ever before, brands across all industries are attuning to the fact that an in-depth understanding of their audience’s interests and lifestyles is key to robust sales and longevity. The cannabis industry posted that message loud and clear this year, with one online cannabis marketplace, Jane Technologies, Inc. (which partners with over 1,600 dispensaries and brands across 33 states) seeing online Green Wednesday profits for 2020 up 241% over 2019. Failure to stay relevant to consumers could result in the recent sales boom going bust, yet a recent Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Fyllo, a leading innovator in data, media, and compliance solutions for highly regulated industries, shows many brands lagging behind.

CannTrust Holdings Inc. is staging a comeback more than a year after its licences were suspended for illegally growing thousands of kilograms of dried cannabis in unlicensed rooms.

The Vaughan, Ont. cannabis firm announced Dec. 2 that it will reintroduce two recreational brands, Liiv and Synr.g, to the Canadian market this month.

“We’re confident that when the customers come back and try our products again, then they’ll remember how good and how consistent and high quality they are,” CEO Greg Guyatt said in an interview.

“We think we will win them back.”

That task may not be easy.

CannTrust remains under Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act protection as it deals with multiple class action lawsuits and other litigation.

Organic standards can be established, whether or not cannabis is legal at the federal level.

Those standards won’t be federally regulated, but they can exist separately from legalization.