Quebec cannabis giant HEXO Corp. is acquiring Newstrike Brands Ltd. — the Oakville-based mid-sized cannabis company backed by The Tragically Hip — in an all-stock deal worth $260 million, both companies announced early Wednesday morning.

The deal is the biggest yet to take place between two sizeable Canadian cannabis companies post-legalization in a crowded industry where the top two players — Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Canopy Growth Corp. — control just under 50 per cent of domestic recreational cannabis sales.

Newstrike shareholders will receive 0.06332 of a HEXO common share in exchange for each Newstrike common share held, according to a press release put out by both companies.

The Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) is hitting 2019 hard, at least when it comes to the cannabis industry. BOM invested in three marijuana companies in the past three weeks, injecting over CA$100 million ($74.61 million) into an industry that is still dancing with legality in most parts of North America.

On Tuesday (February 26), the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) signed supply agreements with licensed producers (LPs) Organigram Holdings (TSXV:OGI,OTCQX:OGRMF) and Zenabis Global (TSXV:ZENA,OTC Pink:ZBISF) to add product to its lineup of recreational marijuana.

Both producers will have to wait for the public process of the SQDC to determine the exact start date and final agreement in terms of quantity sold to the province.

Zenabis informed shareholders it expects to supply product starting the second quarter of 2019.

Organigram Holdings Inc.(TSXV:OGI), one of the Canadian cannabis stocks, Tuesday announced that it has signed a letter of intent with the Société Québécoise du Cannabis (SQDC) to supply recreational cannabis.

With this agreement in place, Organigram’s products will now be available in all 10 Canadian provinces.

If passed, Quebec’s Bill 2, An Act to tighten the regulation of cannabis, would ban cannabis use in all public places province-wide, reports CFAMM, a federal non-profit, non-partisan, patient-run organization dedicated to protecting and improving the rights of medical cannabis patients.

The government has no intention of backing down on its decision to increase the legal age to consume cannabis from 18 to 21, says Premier François Legault.

But following a pitch to show more flexibility Tuesday by Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, Legault has indicated there may be some wiggle room on the government’s plan to drastically cut the number of public places where pot can be consumed.

He has speculated allowing edibles might be an option, because they do not produce smoke. Under the federal law, dried and fresh cannabis, oil, plants and seeds are legal.

In 2018, the world watched as Canada became the first Western country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana – and all the challenges that came with it.

Today, a lack of supply at the city’s only downtown pot shop is leaving some customers with a bad taste about how legalization has been rolled out so far. 

While lineups outside the SQDC outlet on Saint-Catherine Street has decreased pretty dramatically between October and December, but one problem facing the only pot shop downtown remains: a lack of stock.

“It’s pretty empty at the moment,” said one customer leaving the shop. “I feel like you have to come at a specific time to get something.”

If your province or territory nabbing the best deal?!

It's officially day two of cannabis officially being legal in Canada. While we are all probably coming off the high of such a big milestone for the country (pun absolutely intended), Canadians are shocked to see how different the legal purchasing experience is from province to province. 

Not only do some provinces get to buy in store rather than online, but areas of the country are also seeing some extreme price differences for legal cannabis. Meaning you might want to consider a road trip to snag the best bang for your buck. Here are the current prices per gram of legal marijuana in every part of Canada, so you can see how your province stacks up. All prices listed are in CAD.

If you want pot brownies for legalization day, you’ll have to make them yourself.

It’s cannabis legalization day in Canada, those looking to eat their weed, be warned: edibles in any form — brownies, ice cream, candy — are off the market until further notice.

The Canadian government has not yet allowed edible cannabis products to be sold for recreational use, apparently needing more time to create regulations around those products. The government’s backgrounder notes that edibles should be available for sale within one year of the October 17 legalization, but has not set a specific date, nor has it offered any more of a detailed timeline.

Some tech glitches, a few sold out products and a quest to find that first legal toke.

Well, it’s here. From province to province, government portals started selling cannabis, many at the stroke of midnight. So has the entire county gone up in puff of smoke? Read on-the-ground stories and analysis from across the Postmedia chain.