If you’d told someone two decades ago that recreational marijuana use would be legalized in Canada, they would not have believed you and would likely  have asked if you were high.

As of October 17, 2018, the Government of Canada legalized marijuana for recreational purposes.

Fast forward nine months, and Canada’s largest marijuana company Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED)(NYSE:CGC) has a market capitalization of almost $16 billion.

Canopy Growth’s stock price has increased 1,672% since its IPO, but this trend is unlikely to continue, and here is why.

Many are familiar with natural cannabidiol, but not many are aware of the new substance on the block – synthetic Marinol, which is an FDA-approved drug that is touted as a safe alternative to medical marijuana.

It is also categorized as a controlled substance due to the inclusion of dronabinol.

Marinol can be obtained through prescription only, and it is meant to be used by adults to treat the following conditions, according to the product’s website:

CBD in Canada is not only popular, but the market is booming. According to a Bloomberg article, those in Canada can even get pot through the mail. It is also projected by BDS Analytics that sales may reach $4.7 billion by 2023.

Data by Statistics Canada also indicates that just this year, Canadians purchased $85 million worth of CBD from retail stores – and that is just in the month of May. It is also a 15 percent increase from sales in April.

A belief that Ontario’s lottery system is ‘unfair’ to dispensaries looking to enter the legal market is why illegal dispensaries stay open despite legal ramifications, says cannabis lawyer.

Last week, after 18 people were arrested in connection with the Café chain of cannabis dispensaries across Toronto, police blocked the entrances with cement blocks.

The barricades did not stop sales, however, as marijuana transactions were conducted one by one on the street outside.

Zenabis Global Inc. (ZENA.TO) ("Zenabis" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the licensing of Phase 2C – Part 1 at Zenabis Atholville (an additional 9,800 kg of licensed annual cultivation capacity).

Highlights:

With this weekend’s wildly popular outdoor music festivallooming, Osheaga organizers are reminding guests that only government-bought cannabis will be available on site.

Since the festival takes place at Parc Jean-Drapeau, smoking cannabis will be permitted as provincial law allows smoking in public parks.

More like OsheGANJA, right?

(Sorry, we still have time to work on that pun.)

While live music, herds of people, and cannabis may pair together nicely, Osheaga officials are warning festival-goers that only sealed containers from a government source will be allowed.

At first glance, HEXO (TSX:HEXO)(NYSE:HEXO) seems like the rare value play in an overvalued sector. As of writing, the company has an enterprise value under a billion dollars, and based on management’s projections of a $400 million run rate for fiscal 2020, we are looking at a stock that is trading at just 2.3 times forward sales. But before you make a contrarian purchase here, consider these following factors.

Campbell River is the first community on Vancouver Island where residents will be able to purchase weed directly from the province. 

A government-operated B.C. Cannabis Store will open July 31 at the Discovery Harbour Shopping Centre, located in the 1400 block of the Island Highway.

A government store will also open in Cranbrook on the same day.

They'll be the third and fourth provincially run stores to open in B.C. since the federal government legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018.

The shares of CannTrust Holdings (TSX:TRST)(NYSE:CTST) are down 60.73% year to date. It’s hard to imagine the stock of a major cannabis player falling by this much when the sector’s organic growth is underway. CannTrust’s admission of wrongdoing this month is the latest disgrace to hit the cannabis space.

The scandal could hurt the marijuana industry. The cannabis producers are supposed to squeeze the black market. But CannTrust did the opposite and sold unlicensed cannabis. CannTrust has placed the marijuana industry in a tough spot. New legislative measures might be introduced and more regulatory probes conducted.

The terms ‘sports’ and ‘injuries’ go hand in hand. It’s a pity that despite cannabis being available, sportspersons have to resort to taking addictive opioids to deal with severe pain, resulting from injuries.

However, with the legalization of cannabis across many states (and countries), the sports industry’s relationship with the drug — or at least with CBD — has slowly begun to change for the better, it seems.