Well over a year after cannabis legalization took effect in Canada, Waterloo, Ont. region’s first licensed cannabis store is finally open for business.

When Medicine Hat mayor Ted Clugston got word that one of Canada’s largest licensed cannabis producers, Aurora, was moving to town in 2018, he felt a little nervous. The Hat, a city of about 63,000, is one of the most politically conservative towns in Canada and it has the oldest demographic in Alberta. 

But like most of the province, Gas Town was reeling from the downturn in oil, so Clugston was looking for ways to diversify the local economy. And cannabis, just a few months away from being legalized, was being celebrated as a largely untapped economic force. A trend was emerging that the cannabis industry could save sputtering Canadian towns that had previously relied on manufacturing jobs and natural resource-driven economies.

The cannabis consumer has spoken with their wallets and what they want is affordable marijuana with high THC content.

In recent years, a string of marijuana companies has rushed to establish top-tier, premium cannabis products on dispensary shelves. The belief was that consumers would gravitate towards luxurious cannabis goods, much in the same way as craft beer and aged whiskey dominate a specific foothold within the spirits industry. This would be especially true for older crowds and newcomers, who would buy top-of-the-line weed to assuage any concern about this brave new world of marijuana.

Shopping for legal weed in Nova Scotia is about to get a little more convenient for cannabis-loving Maritimers.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corp., the province’s sole licensed cannabis retailer, has announced that more locations will start selling cannabis, which will more than double the number of legal retailers available to Nova Scotians, CBC reports.

The new moves are the province’s latest effort to “address geographical gaps” and better compete with illicit sellers, who currently dominate Nova Scotia cannabis sales.

Finance and Treasury Board Minister Karen Casey announced the decision on Friday.

It has been a brutal year for cannabis investors. Heading into 2020, cannabis investors are now weighing whether to cut their losses or buy the dip in a bet on a rebound ahead.

This is set to be an exciting year for the Canadian cannabis industry, but there are still several hurdles the fledgling industry must overcome if it is to live up to pre-legalization hype.

According to data from Brightfield Group’s January 2020 Canadian Cannabis report, one-third of Canadian cannabis consumers were unsure which brands they were purchasing and 50% didn’t know what dosage they preferred in 2019.

The survey data illuminates two problems the government, licensed cannabis producers, sellers, and consumers have experienced since legalization.

“Regulations were so extensive that few brands or products were able to gain traction among customers,” the report states.

The discovery of new and improved cannabinoids means that our knowledge of cannabis’s medicinal capabilities is expanding.

Just when we thought we were learning more about cannabis and its compounds, the strongest cannabinoid yet steps into the spotlight. THCP, recently discovered by a group of Italian scientists, is said to be 30 times stronger than THC, expanding on cannabis’s medicinal potential. There’s also CBDP, another cannabinoid discovered by these same scientists which, as its name suggests, is very similar to CBD.

Since its arrival in December, the coronavirus has infected more than 42,000 people and claimed more than 1,000 lives. Many travel plans and routes have been disrupted as well, with some cruise ships facing strict quarantines to diminish the coronavirus from spreading. To further prevent the disease outbreak, at least 24 Chinese provinces have shut down businesses and factories.

This move, while critical to world health, has had a substantial impact on global trade. That includes the cannabis industry, where marijuana vaporizer companies often rely on Chinese manufacturers to produce hardware. You might be surprised to learn that almost every component of vaporizers come from Chinese factories, with cannabis oil serving as the only American-made good in many vaping products.

Projections of the worldwide spending on legal cannabis are set to hit highs of $57 billion in sales by 2027. With this in mind, the opportunity to capitalize on marijuana stocks is still a great possibility. Even though we have seen some major changes impact the market, there are still more obstacles to get past. However, if the market can overcome these hurdles it can have a positive outcome for pot stock investors. One of those fences to climb happens to be the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. on the federal level.

Hemp is everywhere and according to various market studies, the entire industry is expected to be worth nearly $27 billion by 2025.

There’s almost nothing that hemp can’t do. It can be used as a food supplement, medication, topical, it can be manufactured into plastic, concrete, and batteries. It’s hardy, grows easily, and is incredibly versatile, and that’s precisely why everyone is scrambling to cash in.