Marijuana research in Canada stands in stark contrast with what is happening in the United States. With its progressive approach, Canada has more in common with world-leading Israel when it comes to cannabis research.

At least, it has that potential. But red tape is currently standing in the way of success.

Over the past year and a half, as it moved to roll up several Oregon businesses into a vertically integrated enterprise, C21 Investments Inc. stood out on the state’s cannabis landscape. But Oregon — “America’s incubator of cannabis brands,” as former CEO Robert Cheney once termed it — is proving to be a daunting market.

A new CEO, Sonny L. Newman, is now trying to shore up money-losing operations in Oregon while turning to his home state of Nevada as C21’s best growth opportunity.

Everyone was expecting that the legalization of adult-use marijuana would create a “supernova” on the stock market. There was a stellar explosion but only in the valuations of the cannabis companies.

Canopy Rivers Inc. (“Canopy Rivers” or the “Company“) (TSX: RIV) (OTC: CNPOF), a venture capital firm specializing in cannabis, is pleased to announce its portfolio company, TerrAscend Corp. (“TerrAscend“) (CSE: TER) (OTCQX: TRSS

Pasha Brands Ltd. (“Pasha“) (CSE: CRFT) (OTC:CRFTF) (FSE:ZZD), Canada’s largest craft cannabis brands organization, released a statement today asking for the full expungement of criminal records for those charged under previous cannabis laws. Canada is one of the first countries to admit that prohibition has been a failure and been harmful for people and its economy on a variety of levels.

Cannabis and kids is a big research topic, especially since the drug’s legalization here last fall.

A new Health Canada study reports that kids, as young as 13, are twice as likely to smoke weed than cigarettes.

Although both substances are illegal for those underage, the 13- and 14-year-old high school students report that 7% of them had tried pot at least once, while 8% said they used occasionally. tobacco use came in at 4%.

Another recent survey by Health Canada reports an upswing in cannabis use among high school students — but prior to legalization. The study’s lead author Dr. Alexandra Zuckerman reports that public perception began shifting in 2014, likely due to lots of cannabis discussion and widespread medical cannabis use.

Profits have been elusive for many companies in the cannabis industry. With federal law making it impossible for companies to expand their operations across the U.S without either acquiring a company in another state or setting up an entirely new operation, it's been very difficult for costs to stay at manageable levels. The one workaround, however, has been for companies like Charlotte's Web (OTC:CWBHF) that have chosen a different route: hemp.

Marijuana is poised to be one of the fastest-growing industries on the planet over the next decade. Worldwide sales have more than tripled to $10.9 billion over the last four years, and they could grow as much as 18-fold over the next decade, if investment bank Stifel's global sales estimate comes to fruition.

The second great Canadian cannabis rush is nearing the starting line, with pot entrepreneurs looking to stand out amid an onslaught of soon-to-be-legal edibles on the market.

Legal cannabis edibles and other derivatives are expected to grow Canada’s cannabis market by three million consumers, or 65 per cent, according to a poll commissioned earlier this year by a leading industry data collector.

The survey, conducted with 3,000 respondents last May by Lift & Co. and Ernst and Young, suggests the country’s 4.6 million adult cannabis users will grow to about 7.6 million after a wider variety of non-smokable licensed products go on store shelves at year’s end.

Hundreds of people across the country have taken ill over the past weeks with a severe pulmonary affliction apparently linked to the vaping of cannabis products and nicotine-filled e-cigarettes. The victims are now said to number over 450 — and many were otherwise healthy young people, in their teens or early 20s. State and federal health authorities are investigating, and have just issued preliminary findings naming a particular additive found in vape cartridges. While the additive appears most common in illicit market vapes, many states have not banned the substance in their legal products.