Canadian cannabis cultivator CannTrust (TSX:TRST)(NYSE:CTST) saw its stock plunge after Health Canada found that one of its greenhouse facilities was non-compliant. This comes on the back of what has been a tough few months for the burgeoning legal marijuana industry with significant doubts emerging about its viability in the wake of Canopy Growth’s shock fiscal fourth-quarter 2019 results. Those results were so disappointing that 40% owner liquor giant Constellation Brands was concerned and co-founder as well as co-CEO Bruce Linton stepped down and left the industry-leading cultivator.

A recent survey, commissioned by Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana (CFAMM), the Arthritis Society and the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), brings to light some of the effects of legalization on patients.

The compilation of three separate online surveys of 2,319 Canadian residents aged 18 and over that included nearly 1,000 medical cannabis users highlights some of the challenges, gaps and barriers patients are facing, both in terms of access and support from the health care system.

Few industries are generating the buzz that cannabis is right now. After delivering close to $11 billion in global licensed-store sales last year, the expectation, according to the newest State of the Legal Cannabis Markets report from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics, is that worldwide licensed-store sales will nearly quadruple to more than $40 billion by 2024. That's growth Wall Street and investors simply can't ignore.

Ontario has blamed a shortage of legal cannabis from the federal government for its slow rollout of retail outlets, a claim dismissed by the federal government and regulatory bodies from other provinces, raising prospects the black market for weed may thrive longer in Canada’s most populous province.

Canada became the first G7 country to legalize recreational marijuana in October 2018 but sales have been dampened by supply constraints and prices that are higher than those on the black market.

While the provinces can set their own cannabis guidelines, a provincially run distributor purchases the cannabis from federally licensed producers, and then allocates it to retail locations approved by the province.

Following a miserable May that saw nearly three dozen pot stocks lose at least 10% of their value, June was nominally nicer to the green rush. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF, an exchange-traded fund holding more than four dozen cannabis stocks of various weightings, rose by a modest 2%.

Then again, the data on individual stocks wasn't as pretty. Of the 60 I follow, just 21 ended the month of June higher (two were unchanged, as well). Pessimism was still readily apparent, but it was the most popular pot stocks -- those generally weighted higher in most marijuana ETFs -- that shone the brightest.

Cannabis producer CannTrust Holdings Inc says customers may experience temporary shortages after Health Canada found that its greenhouse facility in Pelham, Ont. is non-compliant with regulations.

The regulator found that cannabis had been grown in five unlicensed rooms between October and March of this year during which time CannTrust was applying for licences and that inaccurate information was provided to the regulator by CannTrust employees.The rooms received licences in April.

In case you haven't noticed, the legal cannabis industry is turning into a big-money business.

As recently as 2014, the global cannabis industry was just a seed that was beginning to find its roots. The duo of Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics notes that worldwide licensed-store sales (i.e., legal sales that don't include cannabinoid pharmaceutical sales and general store cannabidiol revenue) were "only" $3.4 billion in 2014.

The Ontario government has announced it will allow 50 more cannabis shops to open in October. Eight are allotted to First Nations reserves. The other 42 will be chosen by lottery. Unfortunately, the government has learned only some of the lessons from its previous cannabis lottery experience last January.

The announcement of more stores is good news for the fight against black markets. Ontario has trailed other provinces on that goal because it lacks enough legal retailers.

Statistics Canada's latest retailing report confirmed the value of physical stores. Ontario's legal recreational cannabis sales totalled just $7.7 million in March, when only online sales were available. That jumped to $19.7 million in April after the first dozen shops opened.

Bruce Linton is not going gently into that good night.

Usually, executives who get fired will go quiet for a while, taking time to repair the damage to their ego and work out what they want to do next. But no one who knows the former co-chief executive officer of Canopy Growth Corp.was surprised to see him making the TV news rounds within hours of his announced termination on Wednesday pontificating on the future of the industry.

Tucked in amongst the swanky shops on South Granville, a new kid on the block hopes to bring new meaning to the term high-end retail.

"Being in the neighbourhood, the community has been super welcoming,” said Muse Canada president Geoff Dear as he stood in the middle of his company’s first recreational cannabis store.

Dear said the company had to clear a lot of red tape to get to this point and he’s happy to be finally serving customers.

Still, he said now that the store is open, some of the rules around recreational pot sales make it difficult to draw people in to the business.