As the Canadian cannabis market nears its third year of legalization in October 2021, consumer awareness of cannabis is evolving. We are now able to access a broader range of products, including edibles and beverages that do not contain high THC content. Alternatively, CBD (cannabidiol) is now better understood as a wellness, dietary and functional ingredient, and companies are creatively integrating it into a range of CPG products.

With some states legalizing the use of cannabis, the social stigma on the subject may start to loosen up. Today, cannabis seems to have become more popular and accessible to people. In fact, there are fitness gurus and athletes who even start to speak of its benefits.

Nowadays, some fitness enthusiasts incorporate cannabis before or after their workout routine and believe working out while high is beneficial. Aside from that, cannabis is believed to improve overall fitness, too.

To put your mind at ease, here are some claimed health benefits of cannabis, as well as how it’s supposed to level up your fitness game.

Terpenes are a hot topic in the world of cannabis. More than 100 varieties of terpenes, the fragrant oils that give the plant its smell, have been identified in cannabis. They originate in the flower’s resin glands , alongside THC and CBD, but they are not unique to cannabis. Terpenes are abundant in many fruits and plants.

Like cannabinoids, terpenes are believed to influence the cannabis experience by binding to receptors in the brain , with different terpenes offering different therapeutic benefits. Eating foods that are high in terpenes and Omega-3 fatty acids could also impact how your body interacts with cannabis, according to research published in the American Journal of Translational Research .

Three years ago Sunday (October 17, 2018), Canada legalized adult-use recreational cannabis. The Trudeau government deserves credit for making this happen, as most Canadians had for some time believed that the consequences of prohibition outweighed whatever negatives would arise from legalization. That said, the Cannabis Act is now three years old, and it needs to be amended to make the legal cannabis market more consumer- and patient-friendly.

 Trent MacDonald, CFO of Hexo Corp (NASDAQ: HEXO), Niel Marotta, co-founder and CEO of Indiva Ltd (OTC: NDVAF) and Kevin McLaughlin, director at Centri Business Consulting, participated in a panel discussion of the ways early stage cannabis companies can translate their focused growth strategies into expanding market shares.

McLaughlin said the ability to expand cannabis product portfolios without overextending a young company is a critical balance for cannabis companies looking to gain market share.

“If you’re expanding into some of these other areas, there’s rising demand if we’re talking about edibles, beverages, candies, things like that. That area’s going to be 25% of the market in the next five years or so,” he said.

Three years after Canada legalized cannabis, the industry appears ready for a reset. 

When midnight struck on Oct. 17, 2018, Canada became the first developed nation to allow the sale of cannabis for recreational purposes, and since then the industry has had its share of ups and downs. While billions of dollars worth of legal pot has been sold across thousands of licensed stores, helping to stamp out roughly half of the illicit market, it's also seen many cannabis companies cumulatively post billions of dollars in losses as market dynamics warped lofty expectations made in the early days of legalization. 

Despite Canada approaching its third anniversary of cannabis legalization, some municipalities still ban licensed shops. Other countries talking about legalizing cannabis also seem inclined toward minimizing legal access. But my research suggests those policies are probably counterproductive.

User numbers have also grown. In 2018, 14 per cent of the population aged 15 and up admitted to using cannabis. That reached 20 per cent in 2020, equivalent to 6.2 million users.

Vancouver-based TAAT Global Alternatives, a manufacturer of hemp-based cigarettes, has announced that it has closed an additional private placement of $8 million by a group of private investors led by Debbie Chang. Chang is the co-founder of Horizons Ventures, which serves as the venture capital arm of billionaire Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-shing.

In 2018, the government of Canada legalized cannabis for non-medical use. In addition to safeguarding public health, the main objective was to divert profits from the illicit market and restricting its availability to youth. This dramatic shift in policy direction introduces new challenges for the criminal justice system due to the persistence of unlawful distribution among persons who refuse to abide by the new law. Continuing unlawful distribution is foreseeable, in part, because of stringent measures to reduce availability by targeting participants in the illegal market.