KushCo Holdings, a company that sells packaging and supplies to the cannabis industry, would love to borrow money from a real bank.

The legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada has been fraught with difficulties. 

First, the supply of legal cannabis is quickly evaporating. In Quebec, the société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC), the government-run agency with a monopoly on marijuana sales, has had to close its doors three days per week to manage its already-limited stock.

There has also been some confusion among law enforcement agencies about the particulars of the new cannabis laws. Though, that hasn't stopped some departments from issuing hefty fines for some weed-related offenses.

Then, of course, there's the issue of American officials, who vehemently oppose the legalization of recreational marijuana.

Driven by a craze that is assuming almost cult-like proportions, money is pouring into the sectors of the cannabis industry that are focused on cannabidiol (CBD) products.

U.S. pot companies are pushing north of the border in search of capital.

Curaleaf Inc., a Massachusetts-based company backed by Moscow banking veteran Boris Jordan with roughly 30 pot stores open in 12 states, is raising US$350 million through a private placement that values the company at about US$4 billion.

The stock is set to start trading Monday in Canada through a reverse takeover on the CSE and will be one of the most valuable U.S. pot companies.

We think there is going to be huge consolidation — we're going to move very quickly

Moscow banking veteran Boris Jordan

When Canada began discussing the possibility of ending marijuana prohibition nationwide, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the move would be less about the economic benefits of legalization and more about bringing down organized crime. "Criminal organizations make billions of dollars a year in profits on the sale of marijuana,” Trudeau told the Canadian Press earlier this year. “We need to move forward on a system that controls and regulates while In protecting our kids and our communities.”

We've been hearing a lot of stories buzzing around lately about the how to purchase marijuana anonymously in Canada. 

First off, we know that buying marijuana with a credit card – online, or in store – is a questionable move for those who wish to remain anonymous as possible.

Thanks to the U.S Patriot Act of 2001, if you purchase marijuana legally in Quebec or Canada with a Visa or MasterCard the transaction may be subject to scrutiny and investigation by the U.S. government, which also reserves the right to ban any weed-buying Canadians from entering the United States.

Before the last federal election, the idea of openly growing pot in a field would have been dismissed as reefer madness — and illegal, too. But the Liberals won that contest, formed government, and their campaign promise to legalize recreational marijuana came to fruition this month.

The legislation has also spawned the first proposed (and legal) outdoor cannabis farm in the Ottawa Valley.

Mark Spear, a 34-year-old Ottawa native who has worked in the cannabis industry since 2014, wants to convert a 225-acre former horse and haymaking farm near Burnstown, southeast of Renfrew, into a “canna-tourism” complex that would grow more than 100,000 cannabis plants by 2020, run workshops on how to grow and cook with marijuana, and allow visitors to relax at a pot-friendly spa.

A new animal study has identified new pathways by which cannabidiol (CBD), the non-intoxicating compound in marijuana, affects the brain and nervous system without getting users high. If replicable in humans, the finding may strengthen the argument that CBD could be a safer alternative to standard pain and anxiety meds for many patients.

The Ontario Cannabis Store says it has shipped thousands of online orders to customers and the reason many haven’t recieved them yet is due to Canada Post.

OCS says in the first week of post-legalization, over 150,000 online orders were made. However, CityNews has been inundated with complaints from viewers about the delays in receiving their cannabis. In a statement released Sunday, OCS said while it has adequate product supply, the delays in shipping are “partially due to the mail and package backlog at Canada Post created by rotating work stoppages in the Greater Toronto Area.”

The governments of Japan, South Korea and China are warning their citizens to stay away from cannabis while they are in Canada, lest they damage their health or be faced with the possibility of repercussions at home. On Monday, the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto published a letter on their official website urging Chinese citizens and international students in particular to avoid consuming legal weed in Canada “to protect [their] physical and mental health.” All possession, sale or growing of cannabis in China is illegal. Canada, on Oct. 17, legalized recreational marijuana, making it the largest country in the world to do so.