The Cannabis 2.0 market has officially arrived. Canadian cannabis producers were able to begin shipping cannabis derivatives products on Dec. 16, exactly 60 days after the new Health Canada regulations governing cannabis derivatives products went into effect on Oct. 17. 

While there probably won't be significant sales activity until early 2020, the Cannabis 2.0 market opens up a significant new growth opportunity for Canadian cannabis companies. Which Canadian marijuana stocks will benefit the most? Here's my ranking of the top five most likely winners.

What's the single biggest impediment for Canadian marijuana stocks? It isn't the retail environment in Canada, which should improve in the near future. No, the biggest issue is that Canadian companies can't expand into the U.S. pot market and retain their listings on the major stock exchanges in Canada and the U.S.

It's a huge problem because the U.S. is home to the largest marijuana market in the world. As long as marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, Canadian companies won't be able to capitalize on the U.S. opportunity except by moving into the hemp market.

Che' LeBlanc started growing marijuana before he sat at a desk in high school. He learned the craft at the foot of his father, who was also a pot grower.

"One of my first memories are in fact crawling up the rows of plants with the bright lights hanging above," said LeBlanc.

LeBlanc lives south of Nelson, B.C., near the U.S. border, and growing pot has been a passion for him his entire adult life.

He's not the only person in this mountainous region of B.C. who is skilled at growing marijuana. "The Kootenays have some of the best growers I've ever seen," he said.

"There is a reason B.C. bud is recognized internationally. Part of it is the climate and the rest is the community."

Operators of pot shops in Vancouver and Squamish have found themselves in the crosshairs of civil forfeiture proceedings by the B.C. government.

In claims filed this month in B.C. Supreme Court, the province’s Civil Forfeiture Office seeks to seize a pair of mortgaged properties in the Squamish and Pemberton areas valued at $1.93 million and more than $830,000 in cash seized at marijuana shops in Squamish and Vancouver.

The civil forfeiture claims allege the marijuana shops are illegal as they are not licensed to distribute or sell marijuana or cannabis to any person or entity.

The legal sale of cannabis in government run stores in New Brunswick is showing ongoing signs of improvement but continues to trail results in neighbouring provinces by a wide margin, new figures show.

Statistics Canada reports that sales in Cannabis NB outlets totalled $3.31 million in October, a 2.6 per cent improvement over September.   

More promising over the most recent three months, August, September and October, the federal agency says sales in New Brunswick were $12 million, a 28 per cent jump over the previous three months.

Sales in August were especially strong in New Brunswick, at $5.4 million, thanks in part to five weekends in the month plus a holiday Monday on Aug. 5.

The B.C. government says the first batch of legal marijuana edibles, extracts and topical will be available soon for purchase, two months after they were legalized in Canada.

The province says it received its first shipments of the products on Wednesday and has made them available to private and public retailers through its wholesale operation. The province’s liquor control branch is the only wholesale distributor of non-medical cannabis in B.C.

Cannabis edibles are coming to Nova Scotia on Dec. 23 – or at least that's the plan.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) says the full shipment of products has yet to arrive, so they're still sorting out what will be available in stores.

Stores have been remodeled and staff trained to make the way for edible cannabis, just in time for Christmas.

Twelve NSLC stores are ready to sell cannabis edibles extracts and vape products. One store in Halifax is a standalone facility, which means it does not sell alcohol -- just cannabis and cannabis accessories.

"There's more storage, there's more display space, and there's more space that's more accessible," said NSLC spokesperson Jennifer Gray.

The cannabis industry's growth potential is one of the key reasons investors have been buying up pot stocks in recent years. One of the most recent estimates, by research company Fortune Business Insights, projects the global cannabis market will be worth more than $97 billion by 2026. Estimates like this sound impressive and are very effective in attracting investors. But investors shouldn't be quick to rely on these numbers for a couple of important reasons.

Cannabis edibles are among the most popular marijuana products. Canadian consumers are waiting for edibles products to be available in stores. Canada legalized edibles, beverages, vapes, and concentrates on October 17, 2019. Health Canada regulations require a 60-day process for cannabis companies to obtain licenses to release their products. Expectations were that edibles could be available in stores by the end of 2019. Now, it appears Manitoba could start selling edibles by next week.

What makes an industry leader when dealing with marijuana stocks and the industry as a whole is still loosely defined. Mostly due to how young the market still is. This means that in addition to some loose definitions, the rules behind investing can often be difficult to trace. But, that’s why you’re here right? With so many different marijuana stocks to watch, spanning different areas of the market, and finding the right area to invest can prove to be more difficult than imagined.