Cannabis stocks recovered from Tuesday's tumble and took on Wednesday with fervour, with broad gains sweeping across the US and Canada.

The North American Marijuana Index, which tracks the top cannabis stocks in the US and Canada, rose 1% to 307.61. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF was up 1% at C$21.93.

Buds

CROP Infrastructure Corp (CSE:CROP) (OTCMKTS:CRXPF) shares jumped Wednesday after it announced that its tenant brands, Hempire and Evolution, are now available in 40 retail locations.

Shares were up 4.8% at C$0.33 in Toronto and up 4.6% at US$0.25 in New York on Wednesday midday. 

Geldhof, 40, arrived at Central Cannabis on Wonderland Road, just north of Oxford Street, around 7 a.m.

“It’s a historic day for Ontario,” Geldhof said from the front of the line that grew to nearly 200 people.

Monday marked the debut of brick-and-mortar pot retail stores in Ontario. Central Cannabis was one of just 10 of the outlets to get the green light from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the province’s pot regulator, to open.

After a slight delay, staffers in green hoodies welcomed customers inside at 9:45 a.m. following a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Anyone who knows anything about the cannabis industry knows that Canada has been leading the charge for quite some time now. Well, this is true, it seems as though other areas such as select states in the U.S. and some countries abroad, have been working to see their day in the marijuana limelight as well.

These areas are additionally working on producing more and more cannabis as the demand continues to rise so that they continue to work toward becoming some of the top producers in the world. While growers are the ones that people focus on most, it seems as though there are other companies in the industry that are hiding a large amount of potential as well. All in all, it is important to just keep an eye out and not judge a company by how it looks on the outside.

Namaste Technologies Inc. (“Namaste” or the “Company“) (TSXV:N.V) (M5BQ.F) (NXTTF) announces that its principal regulator, the British Columbia Securities Commission, has accepted the Company’s application for, and has granted, a management cease trade order (the “MCTO“). As previously announced on March 18, 2019 , the application for the MCTO was made by the Company due to a delay in the filing of its audited annual financial statements for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018 , the accompanying management’s discussions and analysis and the related CEO and CFO certifications (collectively, the “Annual Filings“) by the filing deadline of April 1, 2019 .

Cannabis stocks took a tumble on Tuesday, with broad losses sweeping across the US and Canada.

The North American Marijuana Index, which tracks the top cannabis stocks in the US and Canada, dropped 1% to 303.21. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF was also down 0.37% at C$21.63.

Buds

Bucking the downward trend was Empower Clinics Inc (OTCMKTS:EPWCF) (CSE:EPW). The medical cannabis clinic operator revealed Tuesday it has closed more than $2.9 million in debenture and equity financings that will be put toward strategic acquisitions and working capital.

The Canadian cannabis stocks we’ve uncovered today have accumulated large short positions following the early 2019 rally. Fueled by the signing of the U.S. Farm Bill into law in late December, the sector-wide rally includes cannabis export developments in Israel and Colombia and Florida’s repeal on the ban of smokable flower in its medical cannabis program.

This rally, however, has been accompanied by a spike in short interests.

For reference, shares held short represents the outstanding shares that have been sold short, whereas short interest ratio takes the shares held short and divides it by the 30-day average daily volume of shares traded.

Since the recent birth of the recreational cannabis industry in Canada and the U.S., many have believed that the medicinal market may eventually take a downturn. While this may be true, it seems as though the medicinal market is finding its niche audience, and they have no plans for slowing down any time soon. There are several reasons that the medicinal industry still has a long way to go and the road only looks to keep going up.

One of the reasons that the medicinal industry has been able to stay around at least from a financial perspective is the fact that recreationally based cannabis stocks are still highly volatile and very risky. These companies have a large amount of supply issues, packaging shortages and regulatory measures that are very difficult to navigate.

The beginning of the year has been interesting for the marijuana industry, to say the least.

Pretty much no group of stocks has performed better than pot stocks, with a dozen well-known weed stocks advancing by at least 77% in the first quarter.

The expectation that global marijuana sales will grow by 38% in 2019, and more than double between 2018 and 2022, clearly has investors excited about the green rush.

The Yukon government's cannabis sales have taken a substantial bite out of the local black market, according to the minister responsible for the territory's liquor corporation.

"Sales in the Yukon have now broken $2 million," said John Streicker.

"We know that by legalizing cannabis, we have begun to displace the black market. And that is one of our main goals."

Streicker was responding to questions in the Legislative Assembly from NDP Leader Liz Hanson, who asked whether the government was tracking illicit cannabis sales to confirm the impact of legalization.

It’s official: brick-and-mortar cannabis shops are legal in Ontario.

As of Monday, Ontario’s first marijuana shops are open for business–and so far, business is booming. According to early reports, eager cannabis buyers have been lining up for hours to get their first taste of store-bought cannabis.

Although the lineups weren’t as long as those seen in other provinces on legalization day last year, they were sizable: according to CTV News, 60 people were lined up outside London’s Central Cannabis store for its 9am grand opening.