While the U.S. pot growers had an amazing 2021, dark clouds loomed over their Canadian counterparts.

Marijuana stocks flatlined last year, making investors skeptical about them now. The sell-off was mostly driven by market sentiments related to the lack of positive movements in U.S. legalization reforms. If you overlook the overall stock performance, the U.S. cannabis companies had an excellent year, growing revenue at an outstanding rate. Most of them were even profitable. 

Time limit put on vacant cannabis stores by Vernon council

Cannabis stores can’t sit empty forever.

Licensed retail cannabis stores in Vernon that remain inactive for 24 months will now see their business licence lapse, after council passed the bylaw amendment Monday.

The change is intended to flush out stores that are “filling a spot,” said city staff.

Also, cannabis stores in the city will have to be 500 metres apart and 250 metres away from schools.

Mayor Victor Cumming’s motion for the downtown area to be exempt from the 500-metre rule did not pass.

“We really need to let the market do its thing,” argued Cumming.

Star Buds Cannabis Co. Granted Regulatory Approvals to Operate in Fourth Canadian Province with the Company's 13th Store in Canada

Will Omicron lead to a rise in sales at cannabis shops in Kanesatake?

It might be too early too early to tell, said Green Devil dispensary owner Clifton Nicholas.

“I don’t know whether we’ve seen a big difference in numbers yet but I’ve definitely received more phone calls from people asking what our protocols are,” said the store owner.

As of Tuesday, January 18, customers wishing to purchase cannabis in person at the SQDC (Société québécoise du cannabis) have been required to show a proof of vaccination recognizing that they are adequately protected. The same protocol has also been applied across SAQ liquor stores (Société des alcools du Québec).

The proponents call it the first in Canada.

A unique food facility has opened in Mount Pleasant. West Blvd Cannabis has opened a micro-processing/cannabis manufacturing facility that specializes in food, specifically researching and developing new culinary cannabis products.

The Vancouver-based company is planning to launch a variety of brands; the first, Choklit Park, will have products available later this year. The company says it's working with local growers to create high THC products.

$87 million in cannabis sales in northern Ontario in 2021, up from $15 million in 2020

The typical northern Ontario town has a post office, a grocery store, beer store, hardware store and now a pot shop.  

The Pop's Cannabis store in the Hanmer area of Greater Sudbury is sandwiched between a bank and a pharmacy. 

Store manager Jamy McKenzie said some customers are just noticing the store now, because they haven't been "shouting from the mountain tops." 

"We don't want to disrupt the community. We want to be a part of it. We want to contribute to it," he said. ​

This Ottawa-based company is the first to offer herbs through the Ontario Cannabis Store that won't get you high.

Cannabis accessory brand Ouid (pronounced “weed”) began with a problem.

Christmas came early for legal cannabis stakeholders in Ontario. Late 2021 statistics showed that for the first time since the 2018 legalization, sales in the province’s legal cannabis market overtook those of the illicit cannabis market.

Meanwhile, consumers who helped the province’s cannabis regulator, the Ontario Cannabis Store, reach this milestone are being left in the dust. Canada’s market has been structured in a way that sows corporate seeds, overseeing a proliferation of conglomerates with fun-sounding names that mask less-fun-sounding parent companies looking to make a quick buck (or billion) off bud. 

There's plenty of opportunity for these stocks.

Week in Weed: Canadian serial entrepreneur Bruce Linton is unapologetically blunt, China’s ancient taste for cannabis, and is this the first U.S. senate race ad featuring pot?

The  Special Access Program by Health Canada was launched last week, giving Canadians access to restricted drugs and psychedelics treatments. But before anyone celebrates, there’s a catch.