In a flurry of international news, after years of false starts and political wrangling, it was finally written into law: Justin Trudeau’s administration legalized recreational marijuana use in Canada.

Admittedly, the course of true legalization never did run smooth. A myriad of complex province-specific regulations and policies have emerged that have served to reflect the fractured political nature of Canada’s federation, but also to mildly puzzle its citizens.

Shares in Canadian cannabis company Aphria Inc. plunged for the second day in a row on Tuesday as the company fought back against allegations from a short seller that its recent slew of overseas takeovers are worthless and designed only to enrich company insiders.

Take a 35-minute ferry ride across the impossibly clear glacial waters of British Columbia’s Kootenay Lake, and you’ll find yourself on the East Shore. For generations, lush tracts of marijuana flourished here along the abandoned logging roads that snake through its craggy mountains.

Wayland Group, formerly known as Maricann, has agreed to make an initial payment of $5.5 million ($4.8 million Canadian dollars), followed by a second payment of $27.5 million following certain milestones being achieved, including Tropicann obtaining a license to cultivate cannabis in Australia.

Wayland CEO Ben Ward said in a statement that the Northern Territory was "the ideal location for our new Asia Pacific hub".

"The location provides Wayland with ideal climate conditions in a globally respected and sovereign country with a large and fast emerging market of over 250 million people just four hours north," he said.

"This acquisition accelerates Wayland's growth strategy in becoming a truly global cannabis company."

With the legalization of recreational cannabis on Oct. 17, 2018, employers have been preparing to answer questions about whether their current benefits plans should provide reimbursement for cannabis products for medical purposes.

A Southwestern Ontario club plans a tournament next month combining one of the country’s oldest winter pasttimes, curling, with what’s rapidly becoming a new lifestyle choice, legal weed.

Forget the jokes about stoners and curling stones; the all-day event sold out within 24 hours, with calls coming in from across Ontario and 16 four-person teams signing up at $200 a team.

For the past couple of years, the marijuana industry has been virtually unstoppable. Sure, it's had a few hiccups in 2018, but investors who've had the wherewithal to stick with these companies for the past couple of years have been greatly rewarded. The big question is, with marijuana now legalized throughout Canada: Can this cannabis rally continue in 2019?

Wellington County OPP have already laid a number of cannabis-related charges at their holiday RIDE check-stops, including charges related to storage, purchase and possession.

The first weekend of the program netted a charge against a Stoney Creek teen for "unlawfully purchased cannabis," one for "driving with cannabis readily available" against a Tiverton male and a "possession of cannabis resin" charge against a 26-year-old Guelph man.

That's in addition to marijuana-related impaired driving charges laid in November.

Ownership structure of a company can be broken down into four categories: (1) Institutional ownership, (2) intercorporate investments, (3) insiders, and (4) public/retail investors. Mature companies tend to have higher institutional ownership, often translating into lower share price volatility. BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE) is an example of a mature telecommunications company with institutional ownership of 45.5%. Industries in their infancy, such as cannabis, often have higher retail ownership as institutional investors tend to favour more established companies.

For owners of cannabis shares, late 2018 has not been the best of times. Although this summer witnessed some strong gains for stocks like Canopy Growth Corp  (TSX:WEED)(NYSE:CGC), they were followed swiftly by an equally sharp pullback. A few weeks ago Canopy was close to erasing its gains for the year, but has since recovered. Still, it and most other cannabis stocks are way down from their 12-month highs.

Enter CBD oil.

CBD oil is a fast-growing product category that may just be cannabis growers’ “ace in the hole.”