Weed on wheels is coming to Ontario – the legal kind anyway.

Days after shutting down legal cannabis retailers as “non-essential” workplaces, the Ford government announced late Tuesday it will allow curbside pickup options and delivery.

Attorney General Doug Downie brought the issue to cabinet on Tuesday afternoon seeking an order to allow the retailers to still serve customers from 9 a.m. to 1 1p.m. as long as customers don’t enter the store. Cabinet approved the order and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario enacted the emergency order.

No more than 30 grams of dried cannabis will be allowed to be delivered or picked up.

Organigram Holdings Inc. is temporarily laying off nearly half of its staff due to COVID-19, the latest such move by a Canadian cannabis producer impacted by the pandemic.

In a release late Monday, Organigram said it would temporarily reduce its workforce by 45 per cent, representing about 400 of its employees, to help contain a potential spread of COVID-19. 

"These are unprecedented and trying times," said Greg Engel, chief executive officer of Organigram, in the release. "Our priority right now is to make sound strategic decisions that are in the best interests of our people and which will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the company."

What went wrong?

When cannabis became legal in Canada for recreational use in July 2018, the path to legal weed seemed simple. When the Government of Canada appointed ex Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair to head up the legalization process is when the train came off the rails. 

Numerous delays along the legalization process started raising red flags in the budding cannabis industry. Later it became clear that the Canadian Government was not going to release its grip on the fledgling cannabis industry. The inexperienced parliamentarian’s designed complicated laws and regulations which they believed were going to allow for a smooth transition to legalized cannabis.  

Complicated Licensing and Regulations Force Boutique Growers Out

Read entire article at Technical 420.

As countries around the world implement new regulations that are aimed at slowing down the spread of the coronavirus, businesses are working tirelessly to introduce new models that would avoid a lengthy shutdown.

Risk is something that is quite common in the cannabis industry. Whether investing in the short or the long term, cannabis stock investors usually encounter risk on a daily basis. Because of this, it can be a great tool to develop a strategy to stick with no matter what happens in the industry. Currently, marijuana stocks are taking a huge hit from the coronavirus. This pandemic has taken its toll on the whole stock market and not just pot stocks.

Marijuana stocks were on a rollercoaster ride in March. After struggling in 2019, the marijuana sector didn’t start 2020 on a good note either. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (TSE:HMMJ) tracks the North American cannabis industry. HMMJ fell by 18.8% in March. Overall, the month didn’t start off well for the cannabis sector even before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Surprisingly, while COVID-19 has impacted other sectors, it has helped the cannabis sector. The demand for cannabis increased and sales rose. Cannabis stocks’ performance also improved. Let’s take a look at how cannabis stocks performed in March.

The cannabis bankruptcy filings are starting to roll in.

Already plagued by a tough regulatory environment, disappointing sales and capital markets that had closed to all but the strongest companies, the industry is now facing a pandemic-related collapse in stock markets and ever-shrinking financing options. Pot companies completed two capital raises worth just US$5.6 million the week ended March 27, according to data from Viridian Capital Advisors. That’s the lowest level of activity this year and compares to 17 capital raises worth $169 million for the same period in 2019.

Cannabis investors will learn the hard way that weed isn’t recession proof, and pot stocks will continue to fall in 2020 despite a modest March rally, says one analyst.

After a COVID-19-related sales bump helped push cannabis stocks higher last month, a round of disappointing earnings from Canadian players cut into those gains this week.

But Jerome Hass, portfolio manager at Lightwater Partners, Ltd., says the sector is still in bubble territory and shareholders should be bracing for more pain this year.

“The sector has dropped 80 per cent since last April, and it’s literally going to go down another 80 per cent this year,” Hass told Mugglehead from his Toronto home office. “I think this latest rally is delusional.”

Devastated bars and lounges as well as the country's hard-hit cannabis sector will have access to $40 billion in new credit being made available via the government's business bank during the COVID-19 crisis, its CEO said on Sunday.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Michael Denham said the program from the Business Development Bank of Canada would now be open to all businesses.

"Any legal business is eligible to be part of the program -- that was what I think some industry groups were concerned about," Denham said from Montreal. "That was clarified and we're going to formally announce it on Monday."

Applicants must go through their own banks to access the program.