It is expected that within the next year, the U.S. government will move closer to legalizing medical marijuana. And as that eventual legalization progresses, all related stocks will climb higher in anticipation.

Statistics indicate that adult Americans are largely behind the push toward the legalization of medical cannabis. A HealthDay/Harris poll taken last year shows 85% of adults in favor of such a move.

On February 7, 2019, the first authorization from the Colombian government last week to export medical cannabis for scientific purposes to Canada was awarded to a private Colombian Cannabis company called Clever Leaves. Clever Leaves, which is funded by New York based Northern Swan Holdings, obtained an import license from Health Canada on January 19, 2019.

Cannabis stocks in the US and Canada started the week on a negative note, trading in the same direction as the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The North American Marijuana Index, which tracks the top cannabis stocks in the US and Canada, dropped 0.7% to 273.87 on Monday.

Buds

GrowGeneration Corp (OTCMKTS:GRWG) advanced 4.6% to US$3.39 after announcing that it has acquired the assets of Reno Hydroponics.

The Reno, Nevada, store will be the Denver-based cannabis company’s 23rdlocation and its second in Nevada.

Despite city council’s recent “opt in” vote to permit bricks-and-mortar retail pot operations, it’s unlikely Windsor will see any such business established before 2020 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, a local black market entrepreneurial surge is underway within the municipality.

A rapidly growing number of online retail operations focused on the Windsor market have been sprouting up since the beginning of the year.

Recreational cannabis legalization began Oct. 17 in Canada, and despite the federal government’s public statements, in the intervening months, the country is grappling with massive supply shortages, according multiple people running companies or working in the sector.

Since cannabis was made legal in Canada last October, the new legislation has not led to an increase in the number of people smoking pot.

According to a Stats Canada report, around 4.6 million people over the age of 15 reported using the drug in the last three months, virtually unchanged from the previous three months before it was legalized.

The findings are of little shock to Northern Health Medical Officer Dr. Andrew Gray. “Since cannabis was not that difficult to access here in Canada before it was legalized, here in BC, 50% of the people had tried cannabis at some point in their lives prior to legalization. People that wanted to use cannabis already were and the people that didn’t won’t use it even now that it is legal in Canada.”

Aurora Cannabis posts Q2 revenue above expectations after first full quarter of legal recreational sales

With Canada now raking in up to $100 million per year in pot taxes, some of that revenue will soon be heading right back to pot users in the form of cannabis-specific tax receipts.

The only catch? Pot-smokers have to have permission from a physician indicating that they’re toking for medical reasons.

Cannabis is one of the myriad of categories that the Canada Revenue Agency has authorized as a permitted medical expense.

The tax agency, which prefers the somewhat outdated spelling of “medical marihuana,” considers pot as no different than braille printers, glass eyes or oxygen tents.

What happened

Shares of Aphria (NYSE:APHA) sank 10.2% as of 3:27 p.m. EST on Monday. The Canadian marijuana producer didn't announce any new developments, so why did its shares fall? There are two likely factors.

As Canada's nascent cannabis industry continues to experience growing pains, one expert, George Robinson, who runs the cannabis firm RavenQuest, told CTV News Canada the shortages could last for five years.

Quebec's cannabis shortages have forced retail stores to operate just three days a week, and in New Brunswick, the provincial retailer has laid off 60 employees because of a lack of supply. The problem could get worse when Ontario opens 25 retail stores on April 1.