The world is transforming into all things digital, which also includes products such as cannabis. Canadian citizens, with a valid address over the age of 19 (or 21 in Québec) are legally able to purchase buds over the internet. Additionally, the Canadian Government has recently allowed the online sale of cannabis products including: extracts, lotions and edibles.

While online dispensaries are relatively new in Canada, we wanted to take a moment to shed some light on the opportunities presented by this growing business.

Canada’s cannabis industry represented $7.24 billion to the country’s gross domestic product in December, slightly below a revised $7.25 billion made in the prior month, according to latest figures released by Statistics Canada. The country’s legal cannabis market represents $3.0 billion of economic output to Canada’s GDP, an increase of 138 per cent when recreational pot was legalized in Oct. 2018. Meanwhile, the illicit cannabis market's contribution to Canada's GDP has fallen by over 20 per cent to about $4.18 billion in that same time.

CannTrust no longer in compliance with NYSE listing rules

Westleaf Inc announces today that following the filing of Articles of Amendment with the Alberta Corporate Registry on March 1, 2020,  the Company is now named and will be operating as Decibel Cannabis Company Inc. The comprehensive rebrand marks a new chapter in the evolution of the organization and brings together the Westleaf and We Grow businesses under one name, shared vision, and a visual brand identity that reflects our mission to define the ultimate expression of cannabis.

Media Central Corporation Inc. announced it has closed its acquisition of Vancouver Free Press Corp., owner and operator of the Georgia Straight, Vancouver's 53 year old alternative urban media publisher. A binding letter of intent was previously announced on January 6, 2020. The Straight is established as the most important source for news, lifestyle, and entertainment in Vancouver and is an integral part of the active urban West Coast lifestyle.

Equities on Wall Street suffered their worst week since the global financial crisis in 2008 after a surge in new cases of the coronavirus was reported outside of China, fueling fears of a global pandemic. 

Pot stocks were not immune to the fallout from the outbreak this week, having steadily dropped since Monday amid the broader market sell-off that was sparked by the new infections in Italy and South Korea.

For pot stocks, concerns over potential disruptions in the supply chain, which is dependent on Chinese manufacturers, drove the sell-off.

It’s not that startup companies trying to hype up their valuations are dumb. But if they aren’t foolish or deluded, unicorns, in both the weed and the normie world, are deliberately misleading.

Blue Apron, the cook-it-yourself meal-by-delivery startup, floated itself to an obscene only-in-Silicon Valley valuation of $3 billion on the promise that it could ship meals to “99 percent of would-be home cooks.” Spoiler, but blanketing the continent in boxes of food didn’t quite pan out.

Cannabis NB launched believing low prices were not required to succeed in New Brunswick but after consumers taught it a hard lesson on that point, the Crown corporation has adopted a different approach — aggressive price discounting.

And it appears to be working.

Last week Statistics Canada reported legal cannabis sales in New Brunswick in December were $4.1 million, an 18.4 per cent improvement over November. It's the fourth straight monthly increase in sales in New Brunswick, where per capita purchases at government cannabis outlets have overtaken those in Nova Scotia.

In January Cannabis NB's Tom Tremblay credited lower prices - which the agency initially dismissed as unimportant - for much of the improvement.

Alberta has been celebrated as the country’s fastest-growing cannabis market as the nascent industry continues to climb out of the shadows and into the mainstream.

The Sunshine Province led the nation in sales in the first year of legalization and it continues to outpace every province in retail operations. Currently, there are more than 400 cannabis retail stores in Alberta, compared to less than 40 in Ontario.

Alberta has also attracted significant investment from some of the country’s largest licensed producers, including Aurora, which moved to Medicine Hat in 2018 with plans to build the world’s largest cannabis greenhouse.

Just a few steps into the Tweed retail cannabis shop in Osborne Village, potential customers pass by a prominent sign that boasts of THC and CBD-infused drinks, as well as a tall — and currently empty — fridge designed to keep the fizzy offerings cool.

It isn't clear when the high-inducing carbonated beverages will be available at this store, or others.

"The one thing that we didn't quite get right was managing expectations," said Jordan Sinclair, vice-president of communications with Canopy Growth, which owns Tweed and Tokyo Smoke retail stores.

Despite the fact that these drinks have been legal for 2½ months, Canopy-owned companies aren't the only ones without cannabis-infused beverages on store shelves.