One of the only bright spots in 2020 was the emerging cannabis industry.

Whereas the ongoing global pandemic has negatively impacted virtually every other industry on earth, the legal international cannabis industry has powered forward.

According to data firm BDSA, spending on the legal cannabis industry is expected to top $20 billion in 2020, up from an estimated $14.8 billion in 2019.

To put that number into perspective, the international music organization IFPI estimates that the entire global music industry is worth roughly $20 billion dollars, and unlike the music industry the cannabis industry has plenty of room for growth.

Fewer than 400 people have successfully been pardoned for cannabis possession offences despite a new federal program introduced almost two years ago that was aimed at doing precisely that.

Citing figures from the Parole Board of Canada (PBC), CTV News reports that officials have granted 395 pardons under the program up until Mar. 21, 2021. More people have applied for pardons — 251 more, in fact — but these have been rejected for reasons ranging from ineligibility to incompleteness, according to the PBC.

Irish Revenue officials have once again intercepted packages containing cannabis from the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Spain thanks to the Baileys, two drug-detecting dogs whose sole mission is to sniff out contraband.

In all, packages received at both the Dublin and Athlone mail centres contained 141,000 euros (just shy of $213,000) in illicit weed.

Health Canada is investigating complaints alleging inaccurately-labelled potency levels for some products sold by licensed pot producers, including industry leader Canopy Growth Corp. 

The Smiths Falls, Ont.-based cannabis producer was called out by a rival in a complaint submitted to Health Canada's Cannabis Compliance Directorate last month. According to a copy of the document obtained by BNN Bloomberg, the complaint centres on sales of Canopy’s TWD brand that displays a flat 20-per-cent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) potency for 18 separate batches of its cannabis products. 

In a news release published earlier this week, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) sent a warning to the public about a child who had consumed a cannabis edible.

The child was treated and released from the hospital after eating an edible from a package of “Buzzy Peaches.”

After a stalled rollout, Ontario is aiming to approve dozens of cannabis retail outlets each week with the goal of hitting 1,000 stores across the province by the fall.

But the prospect of more competition, especially during a pandemic, has some in the industry predicting a shakeout in the marijuana marketplace.

Vivianne Wilson, the founder and president of GreenPort Cannabis on College Street in the heart of Little Italy, opened her story on Oct. 17, 2020 after waiting almost a year to get it approved.

"We opened during the pandemic, so we don't know what normal is. As soon as we opened we were on lockdown again so people can't come into the store," she said. Wilson added that the retail experience is how she hoped to differentiate her store.

MCN speaks with Cannabis Council of Canada President George Smitherman about the cannabis landscape and policy in Canada.

Canadian cannabis policy and governance are some of the most progressive in the world; and the country’s legalisation of medical, adult use and derivative forms of cannabis have contributed to a healthy, growing cannabis market. Sales topped $2bn across 2020, with further growth expected this year; while the market for illicit products has been steadily shrinking since 2019.

Canadian retailers are making their presence known south of the border, seeking additional growth while attempting to establish a foothold ahead of U.S. legalization plans. 

Fire & Flower Holdings Inc., High Tide Inc., and Canopy Growth Corp.'s Tweed have begun wading into the U.S. cannabis market in recent weeks, taking similar cues from pot producers who have also entered the U.S. despite regulations that prevent Canadian-listed companies from fully operating in the space. 

"The companies are using Canada as their testing ground to get to the real prize, which is ultimately the U.S.," said ATB Capital Markets Analyst David Kideckel, in an interview. 

Cannabis NB could be a thing of the past if the New Brunswick government opts to move forward with selling the provincial retailer, negotiations around which have been ongoing since last fall.

Global News reports the N.B. government has been in talks with a potential suitor since October. At that time, “negotiations started with the top-ranked proponent,” and the agency is in the final stages of negotiations at this time, said Cheryl Hansen, deputy minister of the Department of Finance and Treasury Board.

Police are cautioning parents to keep an eye out after officers discovered cannabis edibles, vapes and seeds at a Toronto-area convenience store while investigating a report that the products were being sold to teens.

A tweet from the York Regional Police (YRP) notes that the report alleges the store — in Markham, Ont., just north of Toronto — was selling cannabis products, including cannabis edibles that look like candy, to underage teens.