This month Ontario opened its first brick and mortar cannabis shops, finally catching up with the rest of the country. However, the appearance of fashionable, though still scarce, stores has drawn attention to another trend in marijuana retail: weed deserts — municipalities that have outlawed legal cannabis shops. Mississauga is one of these deserts, yet it’s also home to TerrAscend, the largest licensed producer of cannabis in an urban setting in Canada.

Nuggets with purple crystals the size of movie popcorn, the marijuana grown at TerrAscend is harvested from 600 plants pruned by experts and hand-trimmed beneath 50 lights, creating a 60,000-watt environment of perpetual spring.

Valens GroWorks Corporation (CSE:VGW) announced Thursday that it has signed a multi-year extraction services agreement to provide cannabis and hemp extraction services to HEXO Corp.(TSX:HEXO) (NYSEAMERICAN:HEXO), a leading cannabis producer and consumer goods cannabis company.

The agreement has an initial two-year term from the date of the first shipment, with HEXO supplying Valens with an annual minimum of 30,000 kilograms in the first year and 50,000 kilograms of cannabis and hemp biomass in the second year.

Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) has surged higher on a deal that will position the firm to buy U.S.-based Acreage Holdings (OTCMKTS:ACRGF).

The agreement, contingent on the U.S. legalizing marijuana at the federal level, would position Canopy as the leading cannabis company in the U.S. Unfortunately for investors, Canopy Growth is not CGC stock.

With CGC trading at bubble-like multiples and the challenges facing marijuana stocks and the market in general, I would not buy Canopy Growth stock on the proposed Acreage deal.

Cannabis retailers in Ontario who have failed to open their stores by a government-set deadline are facing a new round of financial penalties.

In all, 11 pot retailers have been fined $12,500 each for not opening their stores by April 15.

Twenty-five retailers were selected through a government lottery to open the first brick-and-mortar cannabis stores on April 1, but less than half met the deadline.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario established a system of escalating penalties for retailers who didn't start serving customers on time.

The agency says it has drawn down on letters of credit submitted by the licencees -- some for a second time -- taking $12,500 from the $50,000 initially provided.

It’s been almost six months since cannabis was legalized nationwide, and marijuana stocks are once again on the rise.

One, however, is not rising with the tide. Over the past month, shares of Aphria Inc (TSX:APHA)(NYSE:APHA) have fallen 18.8%, with a particularly sharp sell-off having occurred in the past week. If you zoom out to a longer time horizon, the losses have been even greater: since November 7, 2018, the stock is down 39%.

Cannabis was legalized in Canada last year, but that hasn't made it easier for people who want to buy weed on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Health workers and addiction experts say new municipal rules and licensing regimesare leaving people at the epicentre of the country's opioid crisis with no legal options if they want to use cannabis, which can help them kick more dangerous drugs.

Today we have identified four Canadian marijuana stocks that are trading at a discount to peers based on 2020E sales. The 2020E industry average of EV/Sales multiple is currently 8.1x.

With Canadian marijuana stocks being volatile, we believe these stocks will provide relative stability in the future through their low EV/Sales multiple.

The four companies listed have an average EV/Sales multiple of 2.5x, trading at three times the discount compared to its peers.

Canadians should expect a long list of cannabis-infused edibles, concentrates and other products to hit store shelves in the coming months, which will significantly expand the scope of the legal marijuana market, according to sources directly familiar with the matter. 

The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) seeks to add as many as 17 new product types to its sales catalogue when the items become legal in Canada, according to a list provided to BNN Bloomberg by two sources familiar with the organization's plans.

One of the sources confirmed other provinces are looking to add a similar list of products. 

Provinces expect to sell the products under the following categories:

The world is "going green" at an incredibly fast pace, and investors have taken notice. The rise of the legal cannabis industry has been undeniable, with global sales growing to $12.2 billion in 2018, and worldwide revenue forecast to rise to more than $31 billion by 2022. Ultimately, we could be looking at an industry that rivals soda in terms of annual sales potential.

A group of alcohol and cannabis companies have formed an industry alliance to push for changes to proposed rules governing pot-infused beverages before edibles become legal in the coming months.

The Cannabis Beverage Producers Alliance is arguing for, among other things, the ability to produce pot-based drinks in the same facilities where non-cannabis beverages are made.

The additional cost of establishing separate manufacturing and processing facilities is a "significant barrier to entry," particularly for small and mid-sized producers, said Paddy Finnegan, business unit manager for food and beverage at Lakeside Process Controls, an alliance member.

The extra cost will also make it harder to compete with the illicit market on price, he added.