It's been a pretty incredible ride for the marijuana movement over the past couple of years. After spending decades as a taboo topic that lawmakers almost always swept under the rug, cannabis has now become a mainstream issue. It's been legalized for adult consumption in Canada, has been given the green light in some medical capacity in more than 40 countries around the world, and has more support in the U.S. than at any point over the past 50 years, according to polling by Gallup.

It appears that the boon legalizing cannabis would generate for Canadian government coffers isn't as high as once thought. 

Thanks to a myriad of factors including limited supply and a shortage of physical retailers, several provinces are dialing back revenue projections on how much revenue legal cannabis was supposed to bring in. 

On Thursday, Ontario slashed the revenue it would receive in its share of excise taxes from the federal government in the current fiscal year in half, to $17 million from last year's forecast. In fiscal 2019-2020, Ontario now expects to generate $80 million in cannabis-related revenue, down from $115 million it projected with its budget last year. 

As Canada’s six-month anniversary of marijuana legalization day approaches, it’s clear that it's been a bit of a rocky road.

Supply shortages have left customers and retailers frustrated across the country. Some provinces have already laid off workers or cut hours at government-run cannabis retailers, while others are still having trouble getting their retail networks off the ground.

A possible positive to take from the past six months is that there has been no indication of serious spikes in criminal activity or public health emergencies due to marijuana being more readily available – but even that could change as time moves on and more data is compiled.

B.C. rang up $19.1 million in legal cannabis sales in 2018, just seven per cent of Canada’s overall marijuana revenue, even though the province makes up nearly 14 per cent of the national population, according to an analysis by Arcview Market Research.

In Alberta, however, legal sales — both recreational and medical — added up to $216.5 million, about 28 per cent of the nation’s overall legal revenue although that province is only 12 per cent of Canada’s population.

The average cost of dried cannabis has gone up by more than 17 per cent since legalization, with consumers in New Brunswick and Manitoba seeing the biggest jumps, according to an analysis compiled by Statistics Canada.

As well, the cost of a legal gram of weed appears to be rising as illegal cannabis prices drop.

Statistics Canada said Wednesday the unweighted average price per gram of dried cannabis from both legal and illegal sources combined post-legalization was $8.04. That legal price, which includes online and in-store purchases, amounts to approximately 17.3 per cent more than the pre-legalization price of $6.85.

A recent court ruling in British Columbia, Canada that focused on the "material change" clause in homeowners insurance policies could have the potential to shed a spotlight on the incompatibility of such a position with new federal cannabis laws. According to the Globe and Mail, The decision of Vancouver Supreme Court Justice Margot Fleming in February 2019 could very well have far-reaching effects for all homeowners in Canada who grow even a single marijuana plant inside their home.

A week after legal pot stores began opening up in Toronto, city officials are warning they will take tough action against those who continue to operate illegally.

"We are starting an aggressive enforcement action [which will continue] for the foreseeable future," Mark Sraga, the director of investigation services for municipal licensing and standards, told CBC Toronto.

"Currently, our intelligence tells us we have 20 illegal cannabis stores open and operating in the city."

The first nine licensed cannabis stores in Ontario opened for business on April 1. There are two stores operating in Toronto — Yorkville-based Ameri, which opened Sunday; and The Hunny Pot, which started a week earlier.

Calgary is looking to extend its normal deadlines for more than 100 cannabis stores that have been approved by city planners but have yet to open due to a shortage of legal marijuana in Alberta.

Normally, once a store's permit is approved, it has one year to actually open. The policy is meant to ensure storefronts are not left vacant for too long.

But city staff are recommending an exception in the case of cannabis stores due to circumstances outside the would-be weed sellers' control.

That's because the stores also require a licence from Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), but the provincial regulator suspended its application process in November due to a product shortage.

There is a wide gap between what Canadians fear might be the impact of cannabis legalization on the value of their homes and what other jurisdictions have experienced.

Most Canadians believe legalization will hurt property values, according to an October 2018 survey by real estate company Zoocasa. The poll found that 42 per cent of respondents believed a dispensary located nearby would reduce their home’s value, compared with 36 per cent who disagreed. An even larger proportion (48 per cent) indicated that a dispensary nearby would reduce their desire to buy a home in that area.

The Yukon government's cannabis sales have taken a substantial bite out of the local black market, according to the minister responsible for the territory's liquor corporation.

"Sales in the Yukon have now broken $2 million," said John Streicker.

"We know that by legalizing cannabis, we have begun to displace the black market. And that is one of our main goals."

Streicker was responding to questions in the Legislative Assembly from NDP Leader Liz Hanson, who asked whether the government was tracking illicit cannabis sales to confirm the impact of legalization.