David Ireland is frustrated by the “skunk smell” of pot that wafts down from two cannabis cultivation facilities roughly five kilometres away and lingers outside his home, even in the winter.

“On hot humid days, it’s worse because they have to vent more often … You wouldn’t be able to open your windows,” he said.

The town of Pelham, Ont., where Ireland lives — an hour away from Toronto, near Niagara Region wine country — has become a hotbed for legal commercial pot growers who have snapped up greenhouses and converted them from flowers and vegetables to the more lucrative crop.

On January 8, Cowen analyst Vivien Azer released a report estimating the U.S. marijuana market to be worth between $40 billion and $50 billion. By 2030, it’s expected to reach $80 billion — that’s up from her previous estimate of $75 billion.

In 2017, five million Canadians purchased just shy of $6 billion of cannabis. While the Canadian market is significantly smaller than the U.S., the numbers still imply a whopping $1,200 annual spend per customer. Ultimately, however, the market is expected to top out at roughly $9 billion in Canada.

The marijuana industry's momentum in 2018 picked up in a way that we've simply never seen before. Aside from the fact that a record number of Americans want to see cannabis legalized, according to the newest annual Gallup poll, we witnessed Canada legalize recreational pot, the U.S. give the green light to hemp and hemp-based cannabidiol products, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approve its very first cannabis-derived drug.

The price of pot has jumped since recreational use was legalized — and that, along with patchy supply issues, has kept many customers relying on unlicensed suppliers.

A new Statistics Canada study found that the cost of cannabis has risen more than 17 per cent since legalization last October. Since then, only half of the purchases recorded in the study were from legal suppliers — suggesting the other half came from unlicensed dispensaries or dealers.

The two findings are linked, believes Matei Olaru, CEO of the cannabis-focused technology and media company Lift & Co.

Planet 13 eyes Ontario for retail partnership expansion

Planet 13 Holdings, the operator of the biggest cannabis store in the world, would be open to a joint venture so that it can bring a pot dispensary to Ontario, the company's chief executive Bob Groesbeck told BNN Bloomberg. While Planet 13 isn't participating in Ontario’s retail license lottery, it sees a partnership as a more viable way to enter Canada's most populous province.

Marijuana penny stocks are up and down today on both US and Canadian markets. Marijuana stocks have been on quite the bull run since the beginning of the year. This week, stocks corrected but there are some that are still shining green. 

Today, we’ll take a closer look at two marijuana penny stocks that are outperforming their competitors today.

Health Canada is ramping up efforts to warn young Canadians about the potential risks associated with vaping, the agency said Thursday.

Spokeswoman Maryse Durette said the government body has launched a multi-phase campaign to tackle what it sees as an increasing problem among youth.

“The vaping market is evolving rapidly, with the regular introduction of new products into Canada,” Durette said in a statement outlining the planned campaign. “We are aware of both anecdotal information and unpublished research showing increases in the rate at which Canadian youth are trying and using vaping products.”

Stellar sales figures propelled a Canadian marijuana stock sharply higher Thursday. Here’s some small stocks making big moves on Thursday, January 10, 2019 (as of 11:30 am EST):

“As one of the most promising medical cannabis markets in the world, Germany is a top strategic priority for Aphria,” CEO Vic Neufeld, says in a statement from the Leamington, Ont.-based global cannabis company.

The acquisition of CC Pharma—which distributes pharmaceutical products, including medical cannabis, to 13,000-plus pharmacies in Germany and throughout Europe—is helping Aphria create “a German and, ultimately, pan-European platform that brings together demand, supply and distribution,” Neufeld continues.

Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE:TRUL), Florida's premier medical cannabis company, has signed a deal with Sunshine Cannabis to bring a series of products utilizing exclusive genetics to Florida's growing patient population. The Florida-based cannabis company will be collaborating with Trulieve to develop a full suite of premium products based upon proprietary strains developed and preserved by the organization.

Founded in 2013, Sunshine Cannabis is a popular cannabis brand in the Sunshine State known for activism, compassion, and patient advocacy. A Florida-first company committed to providing exceptional medical marijuana products for medical marijuana patients, Sunshine Cannabis is also working to expand legal adult cannabis access statewide.